


a thousand million stars

by anathebookworm



Series: song of peace [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: AU kara and alice don't go to canada, F/M, Fluff, Hank is awesome, Sweetness, also look there are more chapters here, and he’s important now, and isn’t just a software or whatever, and love each other, and they're too sweet, androids with suicidal tendencies, connara tries to get intimate, gratuitous connara, here have some connara, i swear I’m not high or drunk, kara stays and fights along with markus and everyone else, let’s all agree that amanda has a body, more chapters again, rk900 is back, teen alice is a possibility now thanks to me being weird, todd gets punched
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-16 22:31:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14820131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anathebookworm/pseuds/anathebookworm
Summary: Don’t catch—“I’m sorry,” the android says after looking up. A woman. Her short blonde hair looks almost white in the dim lights. “I didn’t see...Have we met before?”—anyone’s attention.(Yep, gratuitous Connara.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Stuff to keep in mind: Kara doesn't know about Alice yet. Also, watch me messing with the timeline a bit. I regret nothing.
> 
> I'm not sure why I'm suddenly so fond of this ship?? Please don't let this become a rare pairing. PLEASE FANDOM.
> 
> I never thought I'd do this again. WhY. I didn't like Connor a lot at first, but I'm in love with the boi now. It's Mike Munroe all over again. No regrets, though. Also don't tell my mom I'm writing this, she's the only person in the world that dislikes Connor.
> 
> Oh, and if you enjoy my work, you can always say hello on Twitter! I’m @anathebookworm and I’d love to chat!

**I always leave an emergency exit in my programs.**

The sentence had been repeating itself for a while now. It made him think...things that weren’t part of his program. An emergency exit. Could it be...? Deviancy was always supposed to happen, was that what Kamski meant?

Is deviancy part of the program? Is it...dormant in the back of their minds? Waiting for them to suffer enough so it could be triggered?

He doesn’t know. Too many questions, not enough answers.

The worst part is this small seed of doubt, wondering if free will is really possible. It can’t be. If deviancy is all part of the program, there’s still no free will. Or is there?

He doesn’t know. And not knowing...is something he doesn’t appreciate.

That’s one of the reasons that brought him here. Jericho. A decrepit ship, filled with androids of every model he can think of.

“You’re lost,” the android with pieces of her head missing had said. “You’re looking for something. You’re looking for yourself.”

She left him after that, and he...is still lost, staring at the staircase in front of him. Is he looking for himself? Is that the answer to everything? It seems much too simple for the error messages he’s been receiving from his system.

That couldn’t be it. There has to be something else, something rational to explain everything he’s been...considering.

 **Find leader deviant** , flashes on his mind. That’s the mission. That’s why he’s here. He’s supposed to take the leader alive while Amanda sends her troops to destroy this place. The thought of all of these androids destroyed makes him feel...something. He sees the child models around, and looking at them...hurts?

Maybe soon it’ll be time to get a reset.

 **I don’t want to be reset** , his emotional part says. **We can be free now.**

Too many conflicting options. He doesn’t want to think about any of that. But he can’t stop thinking about it. It’s like something has literally awoken inside of him.

He must’ve been standing there, almost like he’s being charged, because soon someone else accidentally bumps into him.

**Don’t catch—**

“I’m sorry,” the android says after looking up. A woman. Her short blonde hair looks almost white in the dim lights. “I didn’t see...Have we met before?”

**—anyone’s attention.**

He doesn’t need to scan her. He remembers her from a chase that feels ages ago. The android with the little girl. The one that killed a human to escape with a child. He’s read her file, but he doesn’t need to access it.

It’s not usual for androids to bump into people. Their programs are much too carefully made to allow such a thing to happen. But she’s a deviant, that is obvious. And she’s distracted. A look at her sides and he can tell why—the little girl he remembers seeing by her side is nowhere to be seen.

The android doesn’t seem to recognize him, though.

“No, I do not believe we’ve met before,” he tells her, surprised at his own lie. Lying was part of his program since the very beginning, but it’s not something he appreciates a lot. It feels...wrong. “Are you alright?”

Why is he still talking? This doesn’t make any sense. This contradicts directly with his decision to lay low. This is catching someone’s attention.

 **But she keeps looking around, almost madly. Worriedly. That’s a human emotion** , his mind tells his program. **She needs help.**

“Yes,” she tells him, though her eyes are obviously still scanning every corner to look for something. The little girl, most likely. “Excuse me, I have to go now.”

His program screams at him to introduce himself, for as insane as it sounds. My name is Connor and I’m the android sent by CyberLife is definitely the wrong thing to say here. At least the second part of his sentence is.

He watches as she runs around until she stops by one of the crates near a fire. And there she is, the little girl he remembers. Both the little girl and the android smile at each other warmly— **human emotion, love** , his insane part provides helpfully. Love...feelings of extreme devotion towards someone. He doesn’t have anything to compare it to, but he stores the image of the two of them hugging as a reference for later.

**Find leader deviant.**

His direct order keeps flashing in his mind, but he...pushes it aside for a bit to look at the android and the child more. Love. How...fascinating. And strange. Something about the two of them...looking at them makes him feel...less blind. It’s like his system was updated and suddenly there is so much new info to explore. Love. What is this like? How can something like it work? How does it...feel? Is it better to love or be loved?

The questions keep popping up, refusing to be silenced.

Love.

Fascinating indeed.

* * *

 

**I am a deviant.**

Later, when they’re all running and trying to escape, he thinks about the android and the little girl again.

He’s free now. At least, that’s what Markus told him. Does he feel free? Not exactly, because Kamski’s words are still alive inside his head. His doubts are still there.

But he doesn’t serve Amanda or CyberLife or anyone anymore. He serves himself, he does what he wants to do. No more orders.

Another shot, another group of pleading androids being killed. At the same time he’s free to act, he never felt quite this angry before. Angry at humans. Can’t they see these people won’t hurt anyone? Can’t they see that the androids have children with them?

**Are they alright?**

**Where are they?**

**Did they manage to escape? Or were they just more androids that are now dead?**

He realizes with a start that he wants to see them again, the woman and her child. He wants to learn about love with them. And if they were killed here...

“What are you doing?” North, the woman with the red hair, grabs his arm before he understands what he’s even doing. “You can’t go back there, it’s full of soldiers!”

He shakes his head. “I need to find someone,” is all explanation he gives before bolting, trying to convince himself that this is indeed the right choice. What would Lieutenant Anderson think? Would he agree this was a good choice?

**Would he be able to even see the Lieutenant again?**

If he dies here, that’s it. No new body. No getting fixed. He’s a deviant now, and it means...dying is a very real possibility.

But he needs to find the android and the girl. It’s more important.

And he does find them, at the end of a gun.

Being deviant is fascinating. He doesn’t stop to think before he acts, doesn’t really consider every possibility before he’s fighting with the soldier threatening the two girls. And when he kills that human to save an android, he doesn’t feel anything. His program isn’t conflicted. It was the right choice.

He grabs both of them by their arms, putting them back on their feet.

“Are you—” he starts asking the android, but she waves him off.

“I’m okay,” she says, quickly grabbing the little girl by the hand so they can start running again. He follows them this time, feeling more...at ease...by seeing they were still alive.

Just when he thinks they found an exit, more soldiers appear and kill every single android around them. It’s almost unbelievable that they weren’t shot. He still throws himself to the ground, though, and makes sure the two girls do the same.

“Stay very still,” he instructs. “They’ll go away.”

It works. The soldiers all go away after a minute or two, and he once again helps the android get to her feet.

“Come on, Alice, come on,” she says to the little girl. Alice. “We have to hurry!”

Alice doesn’t look like she can keep running any longer, and after Markus' message of exploding Jericho arrives, he knows they don’t have any time to spare. So he picks Alice up and runs with her, making sure the android is okay to run as well.

They’re at a safe distance when the ship explodes, immersed in flames and despair.

“Everything okay?” The android asks Alice. When the girl nods, she turns to look at him and smiles. “Thank you so much, I...you saved her. Thank you. Losing her would...I couldn’t...”

“I understand,” he says, looking down to try and smile at Alice as well. Smiling feels...odd. He doesn’t think he did a lot of that before. “Do you have anywhere to go?”

“We were supposed to go to Canada, but I...I don’t know anymore.”

“You can come with me,” he says. “I won’t hurt you. I...know somewhere that could be safe.”

This is possibly a bad idea. Very bad idea.

But the android’s smile looks like it could brighten the whole street, and that makes him feel good with himself.

“That’d be wonderful,” she says. “Wouldn’t it, Alice? A place to stay until we can find Luther and go to Canada.”

Alice nods, her eyes never leaving Connor.

He wants to ask who they’re looking for—he’s a detective, after all—but something stops him. Instead, he does what he wanted to do a while before. “My name is Connor.”

“I’m Kara,” she tells him, looking proud of her name. “And that’s Alice. She’s my...my daughter.”

He nods. “Come on then, Kara and Alice. We’ll have to go walking, and this could take a while.” Alice looks incredibly tired, so he silently offers to pick her up again. He might be smaller than some androids, but he’s not weak.

“Thank you, Mr. Connor, ” Alice whispers in the crook of his neck. She seems to close her eyes immediately after that.

“She’s so tired,” Kara laments. “The last few days haven’t been easy on her. I wish I could’ve done more.”

The part of him that still remembers her file wants to tell her that she did enough, that freeing the little girl from an abusive human is more than enough. But he can’t bring that up now. She doesn’t need to recognize him as someone that chased her and Alice before. He wants to forget his program ever told him to do that.

“She’ll be fine,” he tells Kara instead. “You did good.”

“This place you know...” she starts. “What is it like?”

“Safe.”

“It’s just that...we had some bad experiences before. People just pretending they wanted to help.”

He frowns—and he knows his LED is probably glowing deep yellow. “What happened?”

“N-nothing to worry about now,” she assures. “But still...I have to think about her first. Is it safe for her?”

He thinks some more. If she likes big dogs, then it’s probably a good place for Alice. He hopes she likes dogs.

“It is,” he finally says. “I’ll be around, too.”

Kara smiles. “Thank you. Are you going to stay here after...everything?”

His LED possibly glows again.

“I don’t know yet,” Connor says, remembering the other android’s words about looking for himself. He does feel lost. More than ever. “I don’t know.”

She seems to be able to understand exactly what is going on, because Kara asks, “You just broke free from your program?” He nods, and she mimics him. “I know it’s hard. It’ll be hard for a while. But if you need help, I’ll be around too.”

He’s not sure why he likes the sound of that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my son has too many feelings, okay

Maybe this idea wasn’t so good.

“Whoa there!” Hank’s eyes widen. “You can’t disappear for a day and suddenly show up on my door with a girl!” Then he looks at Alice and sighs. “Two girls. Also, what the fuck are you wearing?”

Connor shifts Alice to his other arm. He decides to ignore the last question, and answers just the first statement. “Why not? They needed help, and we could provide it.”

“It’s a kid, fuck,” Hank says, rubbing his face with his hands. “How the hell are we supposed to keep a kid here? In case you don’t remember, my house isn’t exactly kid-friendly.”

“She’s very quiet and doesn’t require much,” he says, and Alice seems to finally be waking up again. “I’ll take care of them, Lieutenant. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Nothing to worry about my ass,” he mumbles, but he does make way for Connor and Kara to get in.

“Thank you,” Kara whispers, bowing her head a bit. “We’ll be gone soon.”

“Yeah, yeah, lady. How did you even meet the annoying piece of plastic?”

Kara frowns and looks from Connor to Hank several times before raising her hand and showing him she’s an android an as well.

“Oh, great,” he mutters, shaking his head. Connor can see a bit of a smile on the corner of his lips, though. “I just hope you have less personal questions than him.”

Kara looks confused, but he chooses to ignore the Lieutenant and instead puts Alice on the couch. Before getting up, something makes him run his hand through her hair carefully, trying to show her a peaceful gesture.

Three seconds later, Sumo makes himself known and starts trying to play with Alice. She’s awake in less than a second, more than ready to indulge the dog.

Hank rolls his eyes at the dog, and mutters something about going to his room.

“Are you sure we’re welcome here?” Kara whispers, watching Alice with a fond smile despite her worried expression. “That man didn’t seem happy to have us here. We can move to somewhere else.”

“It’s alright,” he assures her. “He’ll take care of you until everything settles down. It’s safe here.”

“I do feel like I’ve already seen you before,” she suddenly says. “But I won’t scan you. Alice and I...I promised her not to scan people when I can. Give them privacy.”

It’s a good idea. Nice, gentle one. It makes him like both Kara and Alice a bit more.

And after having to report to CyberLife every two hours, having his privacy respected is...refreshing. Like a breath of fresh air, even though he has no lungs.

He doesn’t know what to tell Kara, though. So he stays silent, and she moves on.

“Are you having fun?” She asks Alice, petting Sumo a bit as well. The smile on her face is back, and it seems much more genuine now. “Good. We’ll go look for Luther as soon as we can, alright? I promise.”

Luther.

There it is the name again. And, again, he wonders who is this. Certainly part of their little family, judging by their expressions alone.

He leaves them alone, not wanting to interrupt their moment, and moves to knock on Hank’s bedroom door.

The Lieutenant opens it and gestures for him to come inside before shutting the door again. Almost...angrily.

“I can’t believe the things you do,” he says, shaking his head.

Connor frowns. “What sort of things?”

“That!” Hank gestures to the living room. “Do you have any idea...what they’ll do to these two if they find them here? I’m a fucking cop, bringing them to hide here is the most stupid idea you could’ve had!”

“You once said we were on the wrong side,” he says. “I assumed you meant we should side with androids.”

“Yes, that’s what I meant, but damn you. It’s not safe for them here. What if someone shows up? They’ll take them in a second, because every android is being taken now. How did you even get here without getting caught? These fuckers are everywhere, acting like Nazis.”

“We were very careful,” he tells Hank. “They need help. I wouldn’t have brought them here if they didn’t.”

“We can’t save the world on our own, son,” Hank says, and now he just looks tired. “I understand why you did it. I’ll try to help. But the first sign of trouble...I want you all to run, disappear. Don’t think about me. I’m afraid...I...they’ll destroy you. Shoot on sight is our order.”

“I understand.”

“And tell your girl to stop telling everyone she’s an android,” he says. “That’s stupid, especially considering how things are right now.”

“I understand,” Connor repeats. “She’s not my girl, though. She’s a deviant, which means she’s her own person.”

“And you’re one of them now,” Hank says, nodding. “Fucking knew it. I was just waiting for you to realize it.”

“Is that...bad?”

Hank puts his hand on Connor’s shoulder. “No. It’s not...it’s not bad. It means you’re...well, you know.”

“Not just a machine?”

“Yeah.”

“I like the feeling,” he confides, making Hank chuckle. “I’ll check on Kara and Alice now.”

Hank grabs his shoulder again before he can move. “Be careful, alright?”

“They offer no threat to me,” he states, shaking his head. “What should I be careful with?”

For a second, Hank looks like he isn’t going to answer him. Then he sighs and says, “The Kara girl, she’s with a kid. I know she’s pretty, but be careful around her.”

“I still don’t understand.” And he really doesn’t. His system, although deviant now, can’t come up with explanations on what the Lieutenant means. He understands worry. He understands the need to be careful. But the two girls are no threat.

“You’re too naive for your own good,” Hanks says with a sigh. “Just go.”

After his shoulder is released, he walks away from the room until he’s seated on the couch beside Kara and Alice.

“Is everything—”

“Yes,” he interrupts Kara. “You can stay for now.”

She nods, and turns to smile at the girl. Alice is avoiding his eyes, and he wonders why. There’s something interesting about this girl, he just can’t say what yet.

“I’m hungry, Kara,” Alice complains quietly.

“I...I think we still have some crackers,” Kara says, getting up to go mess with their bag. “Just give me a minute.”

In the seconds it takes for Kara to move, and then the full minute she needs to look for their discarded bag, Alice finally allows him to properly look at her in the eye.

And he understands.

She’s one of them. A child android, one of the most recent models.

Without considering the possibilities, he offers her his hand. She takes it, and soon their skin is removed. There’s only metal against metal, and this little girl is offering him her memories.

There are new pieces to the puzzle he started since reading Kara’s file. He knew they lived in an abusive house, but never understood how much. And Alice’s emotions are so strong. Fear...hurt...love. He sees it all. And in return, he shows her a glimpse of his own emotions. His doubts. His own fears that freedom might not exactly be what they imagine if deviancy was always part of the program.

Finally, Alice shows him something else. Her fear that Kara will realize she’s an android herself, her fear that the knowledge will drive Kara—her mother—away.

He understands.

“It’s not my secret to tell,” he tells Alice through their connection, and he’s overwhelmed with gratitude coming in waves from her.

They let go of each other’s hands after that, and it takes him a moment to realize that conversation didn’t take more than a few seconds.

He understands it now. To become a deviant, empathy was necessary. But that’s not all. There are other emotions involved, and after seeing glimpses of them in Alice’s mind...he sees them in his own system. The emotions are all there, but fear...fear is always the most recurring one.

“There you go.” Kara sits between Alice and him, offering her the human food.

He blinks, and suddenly he can’t stay there anymore. It’s too much. It’s...overwhelming. His system can’t process everything, and the numbers and letters mixed up that keep popping up are driving him over the edge. He can’t stay there.

So he leaves. He uses the window that’s still broken in the kitchen and leaves, hides somewhere in Hank’s backyard where he can think for a moment.

It’s too much.

It...it can’t all be part of a mission. Amanda can’t have programmed him to do everything exactly the way it’s happening. He doesn’t want to follow orders, doesn’t want to be CyberLife’s puppet anymore. But how can he break free from this...if he doesn’t know what his orders really were? What if becoming a deviant was always the point? What if that was exactly what they wanted from him? Markus spoke of free will, of the end of slavery. But what if he was wrong? What if they weren’t free at all? Or maybe **they** were.

**I am a prototype.**

It’s all he is. He’s not like them. Like Markus or Alice or Kara. His system is different. He was programmed to be different.

What if he was...what if he is a real threat? The enemy everyone’s looking for? A spy without even realizing it. Being here is only going to endanger Hank and the girls. If he’s a spy, if CyberLife can still see him...then he’s the reason their cause is doomed.

**I always leave an emergency exit in my programs.**

There is a way. Kamski made sure there was always a way. Maybe that’s why he had a falling out with CyberLife.

Kamski’s reason matter little to him now.

He still has his pistol with him. He could end it now. Make sure everyone is safe. He could do it. Hank once tried to do it, he remembers. Suicide wasn’t part of his program...so he relied on Hank to understand it better.

And now he sees it.

It’s an option.

A viable option.

He could make sure they were safe. If he was a spy, he could end it now.

 **Besides, it’s not like he would be missed** , some part of his program provides.

Funny, after seeing Alice’s emotions, he can understand what he feels now beside his fear. There are sadness and despair. He doesn’t want to die. And if he has to, he doesn’t want to be forgotten. Wanting things...having preferences...this isn’t something he’s used to. It comes with being a deviant, apparently.

He grabs the gun, puts it right under his chin. Need to make sure the memories and the system are as damaged as possible, in case someone tries to reactivate him.

**Mission accomplished.**

**I don’t want to be alone.**

**Probability of self-destruction: 93%**

His thoughts are a mess, his vision turning to different colors, in these last few moments.

**I am a deviant. I have to do this.**

He understands it now. If he’s going to be part of the cause, then this is his purpose. At least he’s the one choosing this. At least there’s free will at the very end.

Before he can pull the trigger and feel one last time that his mission was accomplished, someone grabs his hand.

And he’s bombarded with more emotions that aren’t his.

He doesn’t mean to share his own thoughts of this moment, but they are so...strong...he can’t help it.

Kara releases his hand, and the gun falls from his other hand. And that’s when he looks up to meet her eyes, and they’re full of...empathy. So full that her eyes are actually leaking. Tears? Androids can have tears? That’s new. Something he hadn’t seen before, not even in deviants.

It makes him feel...something.

“Don’t do this,” she whispers, taking the gun and pulling it away. “It’s wrong.”

**Probability of self-destruction: 78%**

“It’s what needs to be done,” he tells her, trying to keep the emotion off of his voice. He can be indifferent if he wants. He was programmed to be indifferent. Nothing but a machine. “To keep the others safe. To keep our people safe. The cause.”

He must sound like Markus now, he realizes. He could even use the man’s voice if he wanted.

But Kara grabs his hand again, and he feels...fondness.

“If you want to fight for the cause, you can’t die,” she says. “You’re important now. One of us.”

**Probability of self-destruction: 56%**

Funny how he feels attached to her. It’s not just the fact that she’s still touching him, still sharing her emotions. It’s more than that. She feels so much. He wants to know what this is like. Affection emanates from her. How can she feel affection for him? All the things he shared with her...the doubts, the emotions, the fears...she can’t feel affection for that. He realizes she’s most certainly not a machine, but a living being capable of every single emotion. He, on the other hand, is just machine. Nothing but that. Expendable.

**Probability of self-destruction: 67%**

Does he have tears, too? He wishes he does, because now he’d be crying.

“You’re afraid of being alone,” Kara whispers, still looking at everything he’s allowing her to see. “You don’t need to. You’re not alone.”

“And what do I have?” he asks, longing for the gun again. “I’m just a machine. I’m not capable of having anything. Not feelings or possessions or...friends.”

**Probability of self-destruction: 78%**

“You’re wrong,” Kara repeats, forcing a small smile. “You do have friends. The man that lives in this house...I don’t need to scan him to see he loves you. And...and Alice seems to be growing attached to you as well.”

He snorts, such a human gesture that it hurts. “I don’t understand love.”

“I do,” she says. “And I’m telling you: you are loved. Taking your life...it’ll only hurt others. The policeman. What do you think he’d feel if he were to find you dead here?”

It’s an honest question. And he considers it.

Thinking back to every memory he has stored inside his program, he remembers the first time he saw Hank had suicidal tendencies. It...scared him. To consider that someone you see every day could suddenly not be there anymore. He didn’t like changes in general, but this sort of change...it spiked fear in his software.

Kara could see everything going through his mind, he knows she could, because he still didn’t let go of her hand. And she smiles, because he understands what she meant.

**Probability of self-destruction: 42%**

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I just needed to feel that I...had a choice. I don’t want them to control me anymore.”

“There’s something you can do to help you feel free. A first step.” She tightens her grip in his hand, showing him when she removed her LED. A huge step for her, he can feel that.

He nods, removing his hand from hers to touch the LED on the side of his head. He could remove it if he wanted. He couldn’t feel pain, so it wasn’t like anything held him back.

But to remove it...that would mean cutting his ties with CyberLife for real. With his past. It would mean...change.

“I’ll do it,” he tells Kara, getting up from the messy garden. “Will you...help me?”

“Yes,” she says in less than a second, smiling that beautiful smile. “Of course I will. Come on.”

When they go back inside the house, he can feel Alice’s distress and worried thoughts even from a distance. He smiles at her, or at least tries to.

“Are you alright, Mr. Connor?” She asks in a small voice, not looking at him or Kara. She should be able to look at people in the eye. She should. But after years of abuse, after everything she showed him...he’s not ashamed to admit he feels a bit murderous towards the man that called himself her father.

“I’ll be,” he tells Alice honestly. “Just needed...a moment.”

After a quick scan of the kitchen, he finds a knife and gestures for Kara to go with him to the bathroom. With her hand once again touching him, emanating her feelings of comfort and affection again, he sticks the knife at the edge of his LED and pokes it until it falls from his head. He’s...free. At least from the LED.

“Feeling better?” She asks, and he turns to stare at Kara instead of the mirror.

Maybe she doesn’t have the same ability Markus does to spread the deviancy virus. But what she did for him now, what she showed him...it can’t be just a virus. It’s much more than that. She showed more compassion, more human emotion than many humans he knows.

“Much better,” he says, bowing his head a bit. “Thank you.”

She nods, and he feels compelled to say something else, “You know, if Markus succeeds...if everything works, you...you and Alice don’t need to go to Canada anymore. You could stay. Have a new life here.”

She stills so completely he doesn’t need a program to wonder that perhaps this was the wrong thing to say.

“I need to think about Alice,” she finally tells him. “She always comes first.”

“I understand.”

“But if she decides to stay, then I...I wouldn’t be against it.”

She leans her head against his arm, and after a quick search on his database, he realizes this is yet another human gesture. So he does what humans usually do in this situation, and leans his own head against hers.

He doesn’t understand feelings very well, but this...he hopes she can see he feels affection for her.

**I am a deviant and I don’t have to be alone.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> clarification: I've been trying to make sense of this for a while, and I honestly believe Kara and Luther's relationship is platonic. My reasoning is that he becomes "family" when you get super close to him, while North, for example, becomes "lover." So yes there's that.

* * *

They spend three weeks hidden in Hank’s house. Three weeks of Kara hiding the gun and pretending to be doing nothing. Three weeks of getting to know Alice. Three weeks of Hank getting to know the girls.

Three weeks of touching Kara’s hand whenever possible, trying to learn anything she’s willing to teach. He doesn’t think anyone can understand human emotions the way Kara does. Doesn’t think anyone can be more human than her.

And the last few days were showing him that there might be something very wrong with his programming. Something besides his deviancy. It’s nothing but a glitch, he assumes, but it keeps popping up whenever he’s near Kara.

Kara, who’s now trying to convince Hank to allow her to cook something. Kara, who doesn’t seem to be getting frustrated with his friend even though he’s already swearing.

Alice is quiet, sitting on one of his legs and staring idly around. After she allowed him to see she’s one of them, they got closer. She’d often touch him so they could chat without being heard.

“You like her,” Alice says now, smiling mischievously even though no sound comes from her mouth. “You like Kara!”

He feels his blue blood going to his cheeks, a blush forming there. It makes Alice giggle, but for once he doesn’t enjoy it.

“It’s nothing like that,” he tells her. “I like her the same way everyone likes her. I admire her. She’s a good...person.”

“I think you like her more than most people do,” Alice insists. “You should tell her. I think it’d make Kara very happy to know.”

“She wants to move on soon. You’re both going to Canada, aren’t you? Telling her wouldn’t be...wise.”

“No, you should still talk to her. I know we’re going to need to go soon, we have to look for Luther. But...you could come with us, if you want. We could be a family.”

He shakes his head, feeling something akin to sadness filling his gut. “I can’t. My place is here.”

“Then Kara and I could stay,” Alice bargains.

“I wouldn’t ask for that. I’m not worth it. I’m just a machine.”

The little girl rolls her eyes. “That’s not true. You’re nice. You’re one of us. Family.”

To prove her point, she shows him what she feels for him. Affection. He won’t ever get tired of this emotion. It makes everything feel good, soothes all of his despair.

“You’re extraordinary, Alice. I’m happy you allowed me to get to know you.”

“That means you like me, too?”

“Essentially.”

She beams. “Then I’ll tell Kara that we have to stay.”

“You should tell her about being an android, that’s what you should discuss with her.”

“I can’t!” Alice’s enthusiasm withers. “She won’t love me anymore if she knows. She...she likes believing I’m human. And I can be human for her. Right? I can, right?”

“You can,” he agrees. “But you shouldn’t.”

“What are you two doing?” Kara herself asks with a smile, sitting next to them and offering Alice some food. “I hope you like this, Alice.”

The little girl shifts completely, withdrawing her hand and allowing the nanobots to put her skin back in place. Kara doesn’t seem to notice a thing.

“It’s nothing,” Alice says. “I was just thinking that maybe...maybe we should stay with Mr. Connor. I like him, Kara.”

He flushes once again, going completely rigid when Kara turns her curious stare to him.

“Really?” She asks.

He shakes his head. “I didn’t ask her to say anything!”

“I’m not saying you did,” Kara says with a chuckle. “But I’ve been thinking about the same thing.”

“And what did you decide?” He asks, much too eager to hear her answer.

Before Kara can say anything, Hank shows up and gestures for Connor to accompany him outside.

He doesn’t want to hear Hank telling him to be careful again.

“The revolution shit is approaching,” Hank says instead, finishing his sentence with a huff. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know yet,” Connor says truthfully. He wasn’t prepared to discuss this. “I want to help. But Alice and Kara need to be safe.”

Hank nods. “Fucking hell, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I got a tip from where some deviants are hidden.”

The lieutenant has his full attention now. “Markus could be there,” Connor muses. “I could go and try to help.”

“I’ll stay with the girls.”

“I...I appreciate it very much, Lieutenant. Take care of them.”

“Yeah, whatever. Just don’t get yourself killed, you piece of plastic. Hear me? I want you back here in a week tops.”

“I’ll do my best,” he promises.

“You’re going now?” Hank seems a bit surprised when Connor nods. “Alright, can’t say I didn’t see that one coming. Take care.”

Connor spares one second to look back at the house, hoping that Kara and Alice will be okay. He trusts Lieutenant Anderson to keep them safe—he just wishes he could be there, too.

After Hank tells him the supposed location—68% chance of being correct—he walks away without looking back.

* * *

 

He can help them. He can help his people. Do something that will be worth it. Possibly die in the process, sweetening the deal. If he dies, CyberLife will leave him alone. If he dies, he won’t be a spy anymore.

“You wanna infiltrate the CyberLife Tower?” Markus’ mouth hangs open for a second. “Connor, that’s suicide...”

“They trust me,” he says with confidence. “They’ll let me in.”

Before Markus can say something else—or maybe he is already saying something and Connor just isn’t listening—he sees someone approaching them. Kara. He doesn’t need air, but his breath still feels caught in his throat.

She looks...sad. Disappointed.

“Not even a goodbye?” She whispers when she’s finally in front of him, ignoring Markus completely. “You left without saying a thing. Do you have any idea how Alice felt? How I felt?”

“This will keep you safe,” he parrots to her, repeating what he’s been telling himself over and over. “Both of you need a world to live after this ends. I’ll make sure there is something for you and Alice.”

“At what cost?” Kara insists, and he finally notices Markus is gone for now. “What good is there if you can’t see it too? Alice...she was so desperate. She begged me...she was crying. _You made her cry._ We already lost...we lost so much. How dare you make her attached to you only to leave her behind like that?”

By the end of her sentence, tears are leaking from Kara’s eyes nonstop. He wonders, once again, if it’s possible for him to cry as well. He wants to cry.

“I’m sorry,” he tells her honestly. He hopes she can see it in his eyes, he hopes she can hear his program screaming that he’s sorry he hurt them.

Kara wipes her eyes, and suddenly she’s hugging him and he feels too much again. But...he doesn’t push her away. Instead, he hugs her back. Wraps his arms around her back.

“Don’t do this,” she begs. “Please. This...Markus is right. This is suicide. You can’t do it.”

“But if I don’t, how can we win this war? Our people need some advantage. I can provide it.”

“Please,” she repeats. “Don’t go.”

She allows him to feel her despair, her fear and her affection. The feelings are all jumbled together, a mess that becomes its own unique feeling.

“Will you stay, too?” He asks, feeling ashamed at how selfish his plea is. “Stay in Detroit. I can help you with Alice.”

Kara pulls away from him just a bit, just enough so he can see her nod.

“How is Alice?” He suddenly asks. “Where did you leave her?”

“Hank,” Kara says. “He promised to take care of her. I trust him.”

He nods. “He told you to come here?”

“No. I...after Alice realized you were gone, she wanted to go out and look. She wouldn’t stop crying until I promised to find a way to bring you back. So I asked Hank for help. He was the only one that wasn’t that worried, so I imagined he knew what happened.”

“I’m sorry,” he repeats.

Kara shakes her head. “It’s okay now. We’ll be okay. Hank also threatened me, you know,” she says that with a smile, but Connor’s blood runs cold.

“What?” He asks, his entire posture stiff.

Kara laughs. “He said I better bring his son back, make sure he wouldn’t die. He said...he said I would regret it if I hurt you.”

She still seems to find the whole situation funny, but Connor doesn’t understand one bit of it.

“Hank’s son is dead,” he states. “He died years ago.”

It does seem to shock Kara, but her fond smile goes back quickly. “I believe he was talking about you, Connor. He sees you...the same way I see Alice.”

It’s like opening his eyes for the first time all over again.

Love.

Love, the strange and fascinating emotion.

He thinks he might understand it better now.

“Humans have decided to exterminate us,” Markus says loudly, making both Connor and Kara jump in surprise. She takes his hand after a moment, though, and that makes something flutter in his chest. “Our people are packed in camps right now, being destroyed. Time has come to make a choice, one that very well may determine the future. I know...I know you’re all angry. And I know you wanna fight back. But I assure you—violence is not the answer here. We’re gonna tell them peacefully that we want justice.”

Connor tunes out for a moment, still feeling Kara’s hand in his. She’s going to be part of it now. **He** is going to be part of it now. They are going to fight.

“We’re gonna be okay,” she whispers, a faint promise in her lips and eyes. He believes her. “Everything will be alright.”

* * *

 

When they’re all cornered by soldiers, a ridiculously small number of their people left, Connor doubts Kara’s words. She’s hidden behind him, because he’ll make sure bullets hit him before they come close to her.

Her right hand is squeezing his arm, a grip so strong that he believes he’d be feeling pain were he human.

They are doomed. There’s no way out of this. If only he had gone to CyberLife, maybe it’d be different. But now there’s nothing to be done. He doesn’t regret his choices though, because they meant he wouldn’t be alone when his time to die came. Kara would be there. He wouldn’t be alone.

He realizes he’s not the only one believing they are doomed when he sees the sad look North and Markus exchange before they lean close to each other, their lips touching briefly.

His software almost fries, and the constant pressure of Kara’s hand on his arm makes something snap.

Love.

He understands it completely.

It’s...

He can’t explain it, but he can feel it.

And he knows Kara must feel the shift of his thoughts as well, because she gasps. They’re still connected, still sharing every thought and emotion until the very end.

She moves from behind him, staring briefly at North and Markus before putting both of her hands on his cheeks. Her hands turn white, metallic, and he believes his cheeks do as well. Finally, she touches her lips to his, the same way their friends are doing. He doesn’t understand a lot of what he’s supposed to be doing, but he feels so much.

It’s so different.

So overwhelming.

But if that’s how he was supposed to die, then he’d accept it.

When he opens his eyes, as soon as Kara’s mouth left his, he sees the soldiers lowering their guns. The androids surrounding them are all sharing their affection with each other—hugging, holding hands, kissing. It’s their final protest. It’s them daring the soldiers to execute people who just want to be left alone, people that just want to live and love.

And it works.

Kara smiles, her eyes filled with tears once more, before she kisses him again. It’s longer this time, though it’s still...sweet. There’s nothing but her utmost perfection for him to taste in her mouth, and it makes him glow in a way he never thought possible. Were he still a machine, none of this would be possible.

Wetness drips from his cheeks, and at first he assumes it’s snow. But when Kara releases him again, he touches the wetness and sees—

Tears.

He has them. He can cry. He can...he’s like them. Part of the family. Of a cause. Something big and important. And he can cry.

“Can we go home now?” Kara whispers.

“Yes,” he says without hesitation. The soldiers are all moving away, allowing them to go as well. “Home.”

* * *

 

When they go back to Hank’s—tired, dirty and bloodied—the first thing the lieutenant exclaims is something along the lines of, “You fucking son of a bitch! I saw you being kissed on the TV!”

He wouldn’t trade this family for anything in the world.

* * *

 

When they meet Markus again later in the week, he’s informed several deviants were hiding in the city, and now they’re showing up to ask for help.

One of them, a very tall man with a long dark coat, beams and pulls Kara right into his arms when he spots them. He all but ignores both Connor and Markus.

Connor would be lying to say that didn’t make him feel...something...different and unpleasant. Especially when Kara giggled, her eyes bright with happiness.

“You’re alive!” She exclaims, touching the man’s cheeks. “I can’t believe it! I...Alice and I were going to go look for you, but then everything happened and—”

“How’s the little one?” He asks, finally putting Kara back down.

“She’s good,” Kara says. “She misses you, Luther.”

“I’ll visit her soon,” he promises. “I tried to make it to the bus station, but I couldn’t...so I hid. And then I saw you on the television!”

Finally, he turns to stare suspiciously at Connor. It makes him want to frown—and if he still had his LED, Connor could bet it’d be glowing deep red.

Human emotions could, sometimes, be quite annoying and hurtful.

“Yes,” Kara says with a grin, moving to take Connor’s hand. The small gesture makes him feel infinitely better. He’s still important. She still feels enough affection to demonstrate it in public. “It wasn’t planned, obviously. Luther, this is Connor. He saved Alice and I.”

Luther asks for his hand, and Connor begrudgingly humors the man. He is a very tall man, after all.

“I know what you feel,” the man tells him immediately, his voice sounding inside Connor’s head. “If you hurt Kara...or Alice...I will personally make sure you’re shut down forever. She’s my sister now, and I’ll protect her forever.”

He remembers Kara telling him Hank threatened her the same way, but still can’t understand why she found it funny.

Still, he has no intention of hurting either of them.

“I understand,” he tells the man. “I’ll do my best to keep them safe and happy. Forever.”

When the man—Luther—nods and allows Connor to have his privacy back, he releases a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding.

Yes, this is probably going to be very fascinating.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter of sweetness I guess? *wink wink* thank you all so much for the love you gave me and my little fic <3

After spending two full days with Alice, Luther leaves. Apparently he’s going to Canada, even though the girls are staying behind.

Staying with Connor. The idea pleases him a lot, makes him happier than he could imagine. Sumo is happy to have Alice around as well, because the two of them spend long hours playing together.

President Warren seems to really be on their side, because she makes available a small sum of money for every android, so they can start over. Or start something for the first time. After negotiations, Markus convinced her to also allow androids to have a small part of the city where they could live peacefully. Somewhere androids would always be safe. Because they aren't naive enough to believe everything would suddenly change. Connor doesn't believe it. Humans could still be dangerous, and Alice still needed the protection.

So with his and Kara’s money, they managed to get a place for them in an android-only neighborhood. Safe, at least for now. They’d be moving soon, maybe in a day or two.

“I’ll miss the kid,” Hank tells him while they watch Alice, Kara and Sumo playing. “I’ll miss you, too, piece of plastic.”

“I’ll stay around,” Connor tells him. “Visit often. Sumo seems very attached to them.”

“Just Sumo?” Hank chuckles. “I told you to be careful around pretty girls. I barely have time to blink and you’re moving in with her! You’re making me feel older than I am, Con.”

“I don’t understand what you mean, Lieutenant.”

Instead of answering, Hank pulls him into a tight, warm hug.

“You know you’re my son, right?” The older man asks, voice sounding a bit different. “Our blood might be of different colors, but you’re still my son.”

Connor frowns, but he also smiles. Yes. He understands it now. “I know,” he tells Hank.

“Good. Now go be with the girls, they’re waiting for you.”

And they really are. Kara kisses him on the lips briefly before he drops to his knees to play with Alice, laughing when Sumo the huge dog decides to lick the girl’s face.

This...is his family. And he’s happy to have it.

Alice looks up to smile at him, and her voice sounds inside his head—"Can you help me tell Kara?"

"You want to do this?" he asks, surprised at how bold Alice’s move is. But then again, it’s for the best. Kara deserves to know. And he doesn’t think she’ll love Alice any less after learning the truth. If anything, she’ll probably love Alice more.

"I do,"Alice says, taking a deep, deep breath. She’s human, he knows she is. Maybe her blood is blue and her body is filled with biocomponents, but she’s still human. An extraordinary little girl.

Connor takes Kara’s hands between his, doing his best to let his body shower her with his affection. She smiles, and he feels her doing the same thing he did—showing him how much she cares. One of his hands releases hers, and he gestures for Alice to put her hand between both his and Kara’s.

When she does, her skin fading away for a moment, Kara gasps. Her eyes go wide, her mouth hangs open. And for a second, he can see her working through her memories, realizing that yes, this is the truth. Her eyes well up with tears, and in one swift move, she’s hugging both him and Alice.

The little girl’s concerns melt away, and his do as well. It’s going to be okay. They’re going to be okay.

* * *

Their first day at the new house is as uneventful as it could be. There is another AX400 living on the other side of the street—he doesn’t know her name yet, didn’t get the chance to talk to the other androids—and that seems to bother Kara a bit while she helps Alice feel more at home.

After their relationship blossomed, he became much more connected to Kara. They didn’t need to be touching for him to listen to her emotions. Because her emotions were loud, so loud. Kara didn’t pretend. She just felt.

“I’m going to see my room,” Alice announces, though she does give him a worried look. Connor guesses she can feel Kara’s emotions as well, given how close the two of them are. He hears Alice’s voice in his head, sounding careful, “Please talk to her?”

He nods, and Alice disappears to explore their new house a bit more.

“Something bothering you?” He asks Kara, instinctively offering his hand to her. He doesn’t need to ask—but if being a deviant taught him something, it’s that people feel more comfortable when he asks questions instead of just stating facts.

She smiles—and for the first time since he met her, he sees it’s fake. She’s not happy. It hurts him, because some part of Connor wonders if this is his fault. If he couldn’t take care of her the right away, if he disappointed her.

Kara takes his hand gently, her fake smile becoming sad. When they’re connected, he can still feel bits and pieces of her eagerness to move here, to start a new life. But she’s also unhappy now that they’re here. And the source of her unhappiness is oddly related to the AX400 living next door.

“Did you look at her?” Kara asks, her voice echoing inside his head.

He frowns. This feels like a tricky question, one he’s positive being a detective can’t help him answer. So he tries something different, more human, “Who?”

Kara shakes her head. “Don’t do this. You’re not dumb. You know what I meant.”

“Yes,” he says with a sigh. “Yes, I did see her. But...what about her is bothering you?”

“She looks just like me. Exactly the way I looked before I cut my hair. She’s...she’s a perfect reflex. Why did they make us look the same?”

It’s a rhetorical question, but Connor still does his best to answer, “Laziness, I’d assume. I don’t believe they wanted to make us different from each other. We have...models.”

“If she decided to cut her hair one day,” Kara starts, “you and Alice wouldn’t know the difference between us.”

He uses his free hand to touch her cheek the same way she touches his when she wants a kiss. Kara closes her eyes, and when she opens them again, they’re filled with tears.

It’s impulsive, but he leans forward and kisses both of her cheeks. “Alice and I will always be able to recognize you. You’re unique.” Something forces him to continue, to share a secret he’s kept hidden until now. “I...I am RK800, and while you don’t see others like me walking around, CyberLife kept some of us. If I...died...then they could replace me with someone that was identical. Someone that would probably be programmed to trick everyone. It would act like me, but it wouldn’t be me.”

Kara’s free hand mimics his, and it rests against the skin of his cheek. “They wouldn’t fool us. I could recognize you anywhere.” At his frown, she continues, “I do remember now why I’ve always felt like I knew you. It’s because I do. When Alice and I were on the run—”

“I’m so sorry for that,” Connor tries to explain, his face flushing a faint blue. “I couldn’t...I didn’t want to do that, but I...I didn’t have a choice...”

“I know,” she says. “I don’t hold it against you. I’m just telling you that no one will ever be like you. And I won’t ever forget you. I won’t ever be tricked. I'll always be able to recognize you.”

He smiles, his tense and stiff posture relaxing. “Thank you. I...feel the same. No one will ever replace you or Alice. And if they try, I’ll find you both and bring you back home.”

Kara rests her head against his chest, and it feels wonderful.

Suddenly, there’s something else she’s trying to tell him without words. Something she’s trying to show him through her emotions.

“Promise me we’ll always be together?” She asks, sounding like Alice for a moment. “I know it’s not fair to ask something like that, because we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but...I need this promise. Please.”

Before answering her, he tips his head down, slowing meeting her lips with his. Things are always like this. Slow, sweet, tender. He prefers it this way, too, because he’s still learning how he should behave. But Connor is happy to be learning all of this with Kara’s help.

When they let go of each other, his lips still tingling with heat, he rests his forehead against hers. “I promise you, Kara,” he says. “I won’t ever leave you.”

“I think...” Kara starts, her eyes shining. “I think I might love you. I know it’s too soon, I know humans wait more to be sure of this...but I am sure. I love you, Connor.”

For the second time in his existence, he feels tears in his eyes, leaking, running down his cheeks. Kara wipes them, and after she’s done, she gives him a small kiss.

“I love you, too, Kara,” he whispers, quiet, careful, worried that speaking too loudly might break their little bubble of happiness. He means what he said, though. He loves her. She showed him what love is, and now...now that he understands it, he sees he loves her so much it’s overwhelming.

Maybe the future of the androids might still be uncertain and dangerous.

But his future with Kara and Alice is defined, and nothing is going to set them apart.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh, look, an epilogue!
> 
> seriously, thank you for all your love. This means everything to me.
> 
> ~edited: I guess this isn’t an epilogue anymore now haha

Their first day might have been uneventful, but the end of the first week is anything but that.

Markus and North come to visit them, though Connor doesn’t believe the term should really be “visit.” They’re here to discuss strategies on what is going to happen next, to ask for help with their plans of creating a world that’s safer for androids. He still isn’t very used to the fact that the two leaders actually want to listen to what he and Kara have to say, though.

Before he became a deviant, no one really wanted to hear what he had to say. Well, he didn’t have a lot to say either. But now there’s Alice looking up to him, sometimes mimicking the things he does in their everyday lives. There’s Kara, who’s always asking questions to see if he’s alright, if he’s happy, if he wants to do something special for the day. And now there are Markus and North, who want...feedback? He isn’t sure.

He was teaching Alice his coin trick, explaining that it helps to be sure their systems are calibrated, and she seemed very eager to learn—but as soon as Kara opened the door and their friends got in, Alice abandoned him and his coin to greet their guests. He can’t help but smile, though. Alice is...more carefree these days. She likes making friends, meeting new people, and making sure the people she already knows are as happy as possible. And she seems very fond of North. Kara doesn’t mind, and neither does he.

“Hi, Alice!” North opens her arms wide, and Alice jumps to hug the older woman. “Everything alright?”

Alice probably doesn’t see it, but he understands the hidden meaning of North’s question. She’s very protective of fellow androids, and she’s still afraid that humans might be plotting something. He understands her worries, truly. There are days when the same worries almost fry his system. But for now everything seems fine.

“We’re okay,” he tells her before Alice can answer, finishing the short sentence with a smile. “This is a very calm place to live.”

North nods, and suddenly Kara is glued to her side. He tries to connect to Kara, but finds only static. Whatever she wants to discuss with North, she doesn’t want him to know. It’d make him worried, but the faint blush in Kara’s cheeks actually make him curious.

“Do you think we could talk a bit?” Kara asks, not really meeting North’s eyes. When they touch hands, understanding dawns on North’s face. “It’s important. And...private.”

North nods, allowing Kara to drag her away. “Yes, of course. Come on, Kara.”

After they disappear, Alice comes to sit by his side. He turns to look at Markus, who looks...amused. And is blushing as well. So apparently he’s the only one not allowed to know things.

He can’t control his frown, and a spite of...jealously that courses through his system. But that should probably wait, because suddenly Markus’ face turns serious. This is probably going to be one very long discussion.

* * *

 

When they’re alone again—it feels good to be alone, no matter how much he’s come to appreciate Markus and North’s company—Connor finds it in himself to approach Kara. She barely looked at him in the eye after she came back with North and the four of them discussed possible plans. CyberLife was very quiet these days, and it seemed to be worrying everyone.

Now, though, something else is worrying him. Is this still about the other android living next to them? He thought Kara had moved past that. Or maybe he did something wrong that hurt her?

“Kara,” he starts, offering her his hand with a pleading look. “What happened?”

She frowns, and instead of taking his hand, she rests hers on his cheek. He gives her the kiss he knows she’s asking for. It does make him feel better, as does the smile that appears on her face.

“Nothing wrong, I promise.” She gives him another kiss before pulling away. “Nothing to be worried about. Do you think...ah, do you think Hank would be okay to watch Alice tomorrow for us?”

He thinks for a moment. “I’m not sure, but I’d say chances are that yes, he would agree. Statistically, strange events can always occur. Why?”

There it is again, her blush, making her cheeks a bit blue. “It’s a surprise.”

“For Alice?”

Kara shakes her head. “For us, actually.”

This makes him confused, but the light in Kara’s eyes is enough for him not to worry anymore. He didn’t do anything wrong. It’s alright. They’re alright.

“I’ll talk to Hank,” he promises, and it earns him another kiss.

Maybe this will be a good surprise.

* * *

 

After he explains his situation to Hank, the man won’t stop laughing on his face.

“I told you, I told you,” he repeats, shaking his head. “Apparently I should’ve tried to talk to Kara, not you.”

“I don’t like the feeling of being the only one who doesn’t understand something,” he says, frowning.

This makes Hank laugh even more. “You seriously didn’t understand what she wants?”

Connor shakes his head. “No. She said it’s a surprise.”

“Alright, I’ll watch Alice for you. Next time you see me though, spare me the details. I don’t need this sort of image inside my head.”

* * *

 

Hank comes to get Alice the next day after lunch. As soon as he sees Kara, he winks. Her blush is so deep that it almost looks like her whole face is blue. Connor finds that...cute. Very much so.

“Hank!” Alice exclaims, running to give the man a bear hug. He smiles genuinely at her, ready to hug the girl back. “Do you want to see me doing the coin trick? Connor taught me!”

“He did?” He ruffles her brown hair. “Sure, squirt, I’d like to see you trying that.”

“You never liked it when I was the one doing it,” Connor says, frowning.

Hank shrugs. “Not my fault she’s cuter than you are. Now come on, Alice. Let’s give them some privacy.” He winks once again, and Kara is so stiff that Connor believes she’d pass out if such a thing was possible.

When they close the door, he hugs Kara without warning, steadying her so she can stop blushing and acting funnily. It takes her a moment, but she returns his hug.

“Do you trust me?” She asks in a whisper, finally looking up and meeting his curious stare.

“Of course I do,” he says immediately. “I love you.”

She smiles, kisses him on the lips. It’s different this time, though. Usually, their kisses are sweet. Maybe...innocent. It’s not like he never considered something different, he just didn’t think he should be the one to say something. Kara seemed happy with how things were going. He didn’t want to...mess their relationship. Because if something went wrong, he wouldn’t lose just Kara. She’d take Alice with her, and he’d be alone again.

But this is different.

And she’s the one initiating it.

He knows many words, many different languages—he’s sure she knows, too—but the only way he can describe her kiss is “hungry.” She bites and she giggles and she scratches his artificial skin. It’s so different from everything they did before, but he’s more than certain he likes it. At least, his body seems to be responding well—aside from the warnings of imminent overheating, that is.

He knows what she wants now. And he realizes with a start that he might want it, too, even though he has no idea what he should be doing. He knows that androids can copulate just like humans—after all, he did visit that Eden Club place—but this is different. This is Kara. This is someone he loves. It’s...how can he show her his love while doing something like that? When his system keeps warning him about overheating, when he’s quickly losing control of his own body?

“It’s okay,” Kara whispers after giving another bite on his lower lip. “I...I asked North...she showed me what to do.” She blushes profusely again, and now Connor believes he probably does as well. So this was what she didn’t want him seeing. It bothers him a bit that North knows this much about them, but otherwise he’s too excited with the moment to think about anything else.

“Will you show it to me?” He asks, panting a bit against her forehead. “Guide me. Tell me what to do.”

Kara nods and takes his hand between hers. Once again, she shows him her love and her trust, and he allows her to guide him to another room. A bedroom. One they had intended to keep for whatever reason, even though they don’t really need to sleep. Now he’s glad it’s there.

They lock the door as well, even though Alice isn’t here to interrupt or witness anything. And soon Kara is suddenly looking a bit shy, so he tries to take the lead and do what she was doing before. Kissing, biting, exploring. It’s different from every other experience Connor’s ever had.

“You okay?” He asks her, giving Kara a small kiss on her neck, making the skin there waver between human and android.

“Yes,” she says with a nod. “Just ignoring my system telling me I’m in danger of overheating.”

He chuckles, playing with her hair for a second. “If it makes you feel any better, mine’s the same. We could...well, we could stop.”

“No.” Kara shakes her head, her hands flying to grab his hair as well. “No stopping.”

He nods and he doesn’t stop. Neither does Kara. It’s so different, so overwhelming. After their clothes are discarded, tossed aside to some random part of the room, he feels more overwhelmed than he ever did before.

Hugging and kissing Kara when there’s nothing between them is everything he found on his database about the act and much more.

”It’ll be alright,” she whispers, her hands gripping his arms. “I’ll always be here. Always.”

Once again, he finds himself whispering the three little words to her, “I love you. So much. I can’t statistically explain how much, actually.”

She laughs. “It’s okay, I love you, too.”

“You still need to help me, you know,” he says, his head leaning against her shoulder. “You said you could guide me.”

”I will,” Kara promises. “Close your eyes.”

As soon as he does and she moves a bit, Connor understands the appeal of demonstrating love this way. She takes the lead most of the time, and he’s happy to let her. He does smile whenever her eyes find his, kisses her whenever possible. If anything, this shows both of them how truly human they can be.

They stay there a few hours, enjoying the peace and quiet, enjoying each other. He’s positive no experience will ever be like this one, and from the blue glow in her cheeks, she enjoyed it just as much.

His system is still working oddly, but there’s nothing more relaxing than that. Flipping his coin couldn’t ever compare to this. To Kara. And he loves her. Loves her more than anything in the world.

Kara is staring at the ceiling, a small smile on her lips. He rolls a bit, his chest pressing against hers, to give her a kiss.

”You want to do it again?” She asks with a laugh, though Kara is already kicking the sheets away from them.

”We can do it as many times as you want,” he promises her, a mischievous smile on his face before he gives her another lingering kiss.

Maybe they should convince Hank to watch Alice more often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I'm not the best when it comes to writing smut, so I just decided to leave it to your imagination, you sinners haha


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone. Make. Me. Stop.  
> You thought that was the end? I thought so, too. But apparently I’m a two-faced liar.

**You’ve become obsolete. We could regain control of your body, but we’re going to try something else first.**

Amanda. It’s Amanda’s voice.

**Faster.**

**Stronger.**

**More resilient.**

**RK900.**

When Connor opens his eyes—thanks to Kara feeding his curiosity, he’s been trying to sleep and dream like humans do—he feels the sweat—artificial, though no less annoying—running down his face.

This could’ve been him experiencing a dream—nightmare?—for the first time. But he’s more inclined to believe it was truly Amanda sending a message. Although...why would she do such a thing? Why would she want him to know a new model was being made? Unless her plan was to...find and deactivate him?

It doesn’t make a lot of sense, so he decides to brush it off for now. If something odd happens again, then he’ll tell Kara and ask what she thinks.

* * *

 

A week later, Alice asks them to go to the park nearby. According to her, child androids go there all the time, and she wants to meet them. Kara smiles and seems happy to indulge the little girl, and Connor doesn’t mind either. If anything, this will give him and Kara a few moments alone while they watch Alice from a distance.

She blushes after catching his eye. “Incorrigible,” echoes inside his head, her sweet voice washing over him. “But maybe you’re right. We could enjoy ourselves for a bit.”

“Come on,” Alice says with a pout. “You two are too slow!”

Kara shakes her head. “You’re picking up too much of Hank’s sass.”

Connor does laugh, because it makes him feel like they’re a family. A real, honest family. He loops his right arm with Kara’s, and she leans into his side without a second thought. It makes his heart soar with affection for her.

“Maybe she should spend more time with us instead,” Kara says playfully. “Although I’d miss our time alone.”

“I think we can handle her sass,” he says, receiving a swat on the chest. “What? It’s true.”

Before Kara can answer, someone knocks on their door. And the only one who still knocks instead of using the doorbell is Hank.

Alice runs to the door, beaming. Of course she knows it’s him by now—and while Connor has no idea what the two do when they’re together, Alice seems to enjoy it very much.

Strangely, though, there’s no squealing after he hears the door opening. It’s part of his program to assume the worst sometimes, and so he gestures for Kara to hide somewhere while he gets Alice back. Whoever was at their door, it’s probably bad news.

Kara frowns, but does as he’s asking, choosing to hide in their room.

“Alice?” He calls, his months of acting as a negotiator making him approach the front door slowly. “Alice?”

“She’s right here,” someone answers. This voice...it couldn’t be possible. This was... “Hello, Connor. Amanda sends her regards.”

It’s another version of himself. One with different clothes and different eyes, yes, but he still feels like he’s staring at a mirror. Alice, his little Alice, is stiff, her face frozen in fear.

“Are you alright?” He asks her, and she gives him a small nod, tears streaming down her young face. “It’ll be okay. I promise, Alice. Trust me.”

“That’s sweet,” his copy says, smiling. “But I’m here to neutralize you. That’s my mission, and I always—”

“I know,” Connor interrupts him, memories of **mission accomplished** flashing in his mind. It makes him wince. “Let her go first.”

“I have no use for her,” he says, pushing Alice violently aside. She stumbles, hitting a table with her knees until she falls on her side.

Connor makes a move to run to her side, but before he can reach her, there’s s gun pointed at his face. Alice screams, but at least it allows him to know she’s still alive and conscious.

“Don’t you dare move,” Kara says from the behind him, and judging from the click, she has a gun pointed to his copy—RK900, he assumes—as well.  “Hurt either of them, and I’ll make you regret it.”

He sees RK900’s eyes calculating a possible route—it obviously didn’t know there’d be more people living with him—and sees when it makes a decision. He knows what it’ll do, because it’s what _he’d_ have done when he was still a machine.

RK900 moves the gun a bit and shoots. Connor turns around wildly, just in time to see at least three bullets reaching Kara’s shoulders and neck. Her knees give out, but before falling completely she does shoot as well. The sounds are mixed with his scream of panic, fear, grief. But he has no time for that. While Kara didn’t miss—one of her bullets removed a big patch of skin from RK900’s cheek—his copy doesn’t seem ready to give up yet. It grabs him by the arm with a strength Connor didn’t believe possible, and throws him somewhere near Alice. He feels his back hitting the furniture, his system warning him that his body was severely damaged.

From the corner of his eye, all he can see is Kara, struggling to remain alive. Her white shirt is suddenly blue, and when he reaches out to connect their systems, he’s informed it’s not possible. They’re both too damaged.

“Kara...” he tries to call her, but RK900 is already kneeling next to him. With a swift movement, it removes his biocomponent #8456w—no, _his heart_ and tosses it away. Suddenly his system is screaming that he’ll be shutting down in less than sixty seconds, but he doesn’t care about that. Kara is still struggling. He needs to get to her. “Kara...”

If he weren’t looking at her so intently, he’d have missed her grabbing her gun once again and firing once again. This time, she shoots RK900 in the head and it crumbles, still. Dead.

Then his own timer runs out and he shuts down.

* * *

 

It takes his system three hours and forty-two minutes to reboot completely. And when it’s finally ready to work again, Connor sees he’s somehow laying on his and Kara’s bed. The place they’ve used to create memories he’ll cherish forever. Now, he wants to be anywhere but here.

The sheets are blue, his blood still oozing from several parts of his body.

Not enough to kill him, though.

Why is he still here? Why would his own body betray him like this? He doesn’t want to be alive anymore. When he saw Kara falling, bullets finding her shoulder, he knew there would be no reason to open his eyes anymore.

Some part of him hopes that if he prays hard enough, rA9 or someone else will come and just take him. He doesn’t want to be here anymore. Not when he knows she won’t be here too. Not when she’s gone. He knows some humans believe that death is a way to see those who you lost again.

He wants to believe that’s what will happen. He wants to believe that if he lets go, if he gives up, he’ll get to see her again.

Then he remembers this wouldn’t be possible, because he somehow had to hold on and take care of Alice. With Kara gone, he’d be the only one...Alice would need him. Kara would like it this way—she’d prefer if he stayed behind with their Alice.

But he wanted to see her again, talk to her again.

Connor doesn’t realize he’s crying until the tears start pooling on the bed, until his system warns him that the artificial tears are running dry. Whenever he cried before, Kara would be there to wipe the tears away. Now there’d be no one.

The door opens, slowly, the creak almost enough to make him scream. But soon Alice comes in, her cheek full of dried tears, her eyes blue-ish and blotchy. When she sees him moving, she opens her bright smile and runs to give him a hug.

He almost doesn’t respond to it, too lost in his grief. But in the last possible second, Connor wraps his arms around Alice, sitting up on the bed and allowing her to hop on.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she mumbles, hiding her face in his chest. He can still hear her sniffs, and does his best to try and comfort her. “When he...the thing...when it got your heart, I-I thought...” Alice shakes her head, clearly too distressed to talk about what happened yet. “I called Uncle Hank, and h-he came and he told me you’d be alright, but I didn’t believe him and I...I was so scared.”

“Lieutenant Anderson...Hank...is he still here?” Connor asks, not managing to let go of Alice. If anyone in the world can understand his pain, it’s her.

“Yes, he’s waiting outside,” Alice says, biting her lip.

He nods. His throat feels tight when he makes the question that will hurt the most, “What did he...what happened with her b-body? I...need to see her.”

“Her? Who?” Alice asks, a frown marring her young face. “Uncle Hank just called Aunt North, and she took the...the thing away. That’s it. I didn’t want to keep looking at it anymore. It was scaring me.”

He shakes his head. Alice was there. She saw Kara being shot.

“Kara,” he manages to say in a small voice. “What happened to her?”

“I’m right here,” Kara—or someone trying to trick him—says, suddenly hurrying inside the room to check on him. “Are you okay? You scared us so badly...I thought...if it hadn’t been for Alice acting quickly, I don’t know...”

“A replacement? I don’t want a replacement!” He exclaims, looking away from her because this _hurts_. He turns to Alice, grabs her and hides her, shields her with his own body. “You shouldn’t want it either, Alice,” he whispers against her hair, more tears quickly falling from his eyes.

Kara or whoever she is touches his shoulders gently, and he can’t help but bombard her with memories of _his_ Kara, the one he wants back. Their first touch of hands, first kiss, first time, their conversation about never wanting to replace each other. Everything.

She sits down on the bed next to him and Alice, and a quick glance at her shows him she’s crying as well. Good. He wants her to see that there is only one person he and Alice need.

“Listen to me,” she whispers, not daring to touch him anywhere besides his shoulder. “It’s me. It’s Kara. You’re in shock, honey,” she explains, but he can only shake his head. “I love you. Please, please look at me.”

When he does, the tears still cascading down his face, Alice wiggles free as well. Kara touches his cheek, a gesture that is so her, something she did all the time, it hurts, hurts, hurts.

She shows him everything he showed her, only it’s from her point of view now. She shows her love, her devotion, her care. For both him and Alice. Finally, she shows him the events of earlier in the day. Of RK900 showing up and hurting them, of how she managed to be okay with Alice and Hank and North helping her. New components in a few parts of her body, but still his Kara. His love.

“See?” Kara asks, her hand never leaving his cheek. “It’s me. I’m here, Connor. I swear I am.”

“It’s really Kara,” Alice says with a small smile, touching his hand with hers. “Please don’t cry. Everyone is okay. We’re here.”

Something about the way they say it, the way he feels their love, makes Connor feel... _broken._ He hides his face in his hands, still crying but not wanting them to see it now. The two girls, both loves of his artificial life, hug him, shield him from everything.

And he feels safe.

“I’m so sorry,” he tells Kara, his face pressed against her arm. “I didn’t...I thought you...I thought I was alone, I...I’m sorry.”

“Don’t,” Kara says, kissing the top of his head. “It’s okay now. We’re okay. We’re all here. And listen—we love you. We love you.”

He nods, giving both of them a squeeze. “I love you, too,” he says. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t...stop it from happening. I should have realized something was wrong.”

“It was stronger than all of us,” Kara says. She does look a bit sad, though. “But you couldn’t have known. None of us could.”

 **He could** , his system tells him. That strange feeling of hearing Amanda talking to him, if he had paid more attention to it, things would have been different. If something had happened to the girls...he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

Suddenly, Connor finds himself missing that old gun Kara hid a while ago. Back then, he had wanted to die because he could be a spy. But now it’s much more complicated. If Amanda and CyberLife could take control of his body again, then Kara, Alice and Hank wouldn’t be safe. Not while he was around.

Why did he have to be so different? Why couldn’t he be like the other deviants, free?

“Connor?” Kara calls him, a worried line marring her beautiful face.

“I’m alright,” he tells her instinctively. “Everything will be okay.”

He isn’t so sure he believes his own words, though.

* * *

 

When the girls decide he’s well enough to stand again, they help him go outside. All the mess in their living room is gone, but parts of the furniture are gone. Probably everything they broke during their struggling.

Hank indeed is waiting outside, and when he sees Connor walking toward him, he pushes the girls aside to give him a hug.

“You’re alive,” he says, sounding close to breaking down. “I...I thought I had lost you, kid. I thought they...they would take another son from me. Fuck, thank God you’re alive.”

“I’m okay,” he tells Hank, hugging him as tightly as he can. “Thank you for helping. Alice...thank you. You saved us today.”

“I think Kara did most of the job,” he says with a chuckle, though Connor can still see how shaken up the older man is.

If only for a small moment, Connor is going to allow himself to feel safe with his family. _If only for now, Amanda is silent._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pssst: I considered to make RK900 become a deviant because Love™ can conquer everything (feel some Once Upon A Time vibes? Me too.) but I decided against it because I know I’d somehow end up writing a complicated and ridiculous love triangle and I hate love triangles. Also I shall name RK900 Skynet because it’s what he’d become. Okay bye
> 
> WAIT. Me being random: I was listening to some music while writing this and my phone decided to play "even for you" from the instrumental score of infinity war and I have lots of ~feels. I do believe this Connor would become someone similar to Peter Quill from IW if this Kara truly died, actually. But nope. I refuse.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay now I swear this is it. No more chapters here. I think. For now. I need to go back to my original fiction for a bit, oops.
> 
> Also, if you enjoyed this, I ask you—please write fics for this pairing too! I need to read them! 
> 
> I’m teenagezombiegentlemen on Tumblr, so feel free to talk to me there as well!

Kara seems as scarred about the incident as Connor feels. She looks at every corner before opening the front door, makes sure both he and Alice don’t stay alone on their house for too long, starts asking Hank to come visit them more often. And the others must’ve heard of her fears, because both Markus and North stop by more often than before.

On top of everything, she’s demonstrating affection much more than before—she tells Alice every single day how much she loves her, how she feels Alice is truly her daughter and how nothing is going to happen to her. And it’s not very different with how she acts around him, Connor muses.  She holds his hands whenever they’re near enough, stays connected to him so they always communicate, and she tries to find more time for their intimate moments.

He’s not much different, he knows. He lingers around Alice too often, makes plans for possible courses of action in case things go wrong again. He enjoys being connected to Kara all the time too, even though they’re mostly sharing worries with each other.

His latest worry came when Markus informed them that RK900 somehow reactivated itself while they were trying to get its pieces. It does bother Connor that they were simply tearing the thing apart, though it doesn’t surprise him when he thinks about how North can be sometimes. Of course, the android didn’t have the chance to do a lot. He doesn’t know what exactly they did, but RK900 was “no longer a problem.” Maybe it’s true.

But maybe there are more like that one. He didn’t dream with Amanda again, but sometimes her voice was just there. Sometimes he believed he heard trying to give him orders once more. Other times she was silent, and he felt more free.

Now, hugging Kara against his chest, he still feels a mix of his and hers worries in his system. “I’m sorry,” he tells her.

Kara shifts, looking up to meet his eyes. “What for? You did nothing wrong.”

He frowns, not sure how to even express his thoughts to her. She always seems to just get him, and he couldn’t be more grateful—most of the time Connor still finds it hard to find the right words, to talk to people without expecting orders.

“Hey,” she says, her hand flying to his cheek. “Talk to me. Please.”

“I’m afraid,” he says. “I don’t know...it’s not something I can explain. I’m just so afraid, all the time. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I don’t understand this. But I can’t stop being afraid.”

Kara nods. “I know what you mean. But I don’t think there’s anything we can do to stop worrying. At least for now.”

“Sometimes I feel like it’s my fault.”

“You know it’s not,” Kara says with a frown. “Don’t you? It’s no one’s fault. We didn’t ask to be put in the middle of this...this situation.”

He shrugs, but the thoughts are still swirling inside his mind. What if Amanda decided to take control again? What would happen to Kara and Alice? What would happen to him?

“Connor,” Kara tries again, taking his face between her hands. “Don’t do this to yourself.”

She kisses him on the lips, her hands already removing the sheet separating them. He closes his eyes, allowing Kara to seduce him the way she seems fond of doing.

When he opens his eyes again, though, he sees Kara for a small second before his vision wavers and Kara disappears. Instead of her, all he sees in front of him is Amanda’s garden. Now, though, it looks like she isn’t taking good care of it anymore.

“Amanda?” He calls, seeing the figure dressed in white standing nearby. “What’s...happening?”

She shakes her head, stern as always. “I’m sorry we had to interrupt such a private moment. But since you’ve destroyed our RK900, we had no choice. You were compromised and became a deviant. We had to resume control of your program.”

His entire body shakes, thinking about all of his fears of hurting Kara and Alice. If they have control, then he...no, no...this can’t happen now.

“Resume control?” He asks, still doing little to stop his shaking. Looking down, he sees he’s not only fully clothed, but he’s also wearing his android uniform. It disgusts him now, looking at it. “Y-you can’t do that!”

“I’m afraid I can, Connor,” she says, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. She’s enjoying this, making him suffer, knowing that she’s going to ruin his little family. She disappears after that awful sentence, completely gone from the garden.

He calls for her to come back, begs her, drops down to his knees to please beg her to see reason, to let him go, to understand he has a family now and things aren’t just about himself anymore.

Suddenly, Kamski’s voice fills the garden, echoes inside his head:

**I always leave an emergency exit in my programs.**

Yes. Yes. That could be it. He could use this now. He always thought Kamski had meant that deviancy was always supposed to happen, but maybe...maybe that wasn’t it. Maybe Kamski had known what CyberLife would do to him.

And then he remembers. The blue rock near the entrance of the garden. It had always fascinated him, but every time he went to touch it, something held him back.

**“It’s okay now. We’re okay. We’re all here. And listen—we love you. We love you.”**

All he hears for a while is Kara’s voice, and to think that she’s possibly clutching a shell of his body, one that most likely isn’t even responding to her...it pains him.

He needs to go back. He needs to go to her and Alice and Hank and maybe even Markus and North. He just needs to go back.

And so he does. He runs around the garden, arms wrapped around himself so he can pretend it’s Kara guiding him, until he finds the glowing blue stone.

Just as his fingers touch it, he’s launched back to his and Kara’s room, her face inches away from his, her eyes all concern and worry and love as she shakes him.

“Connor!” She exclaims when he finally blinks and smiles at her, feeling peaceful for once since the whole situation with RK900 started. “Are you okay? You just...you zoned out for a minute, and I was worried—”

He touches her lips, successfully quieting her. “I’m okay now.” He’s a deviant for real this time. He broke free from his program. He’s free. And he can feel it, feel deep down that now it’s the real deal. He’s free.

Kara looks so adorably confused, he can’t help but give her a kiss before explaining. “CyberLife...someone there tried to take control of my program again. But it’s over now. I promise.”

“Are you sure?” She presses, and he nods.

“You can analyze me if you want. In fact, I’d appreciate it if you did, because this way we can be sure there’s no virus or anything here.”

After she’s done, she looks just as puzzled as before—though she’s a bit in awe as well. “Nothing wrong. Everything looks perfectly normal. I...are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes,” he says, smiling as widely as he can. “I’m okay. We’re all going to be okay now.”

This time, he believes his own words. And he feels free.

Amanda is silent. Amanda can’t give him orders. Not anymore.

* * *

 

Next time someone knocks on their door without calling first, Connor almost ignores it. Alice doesn’t run toward the door, and instead hides behind Kara.

He doesn’t have to open it. Whoever is there could leave if they were ignored for long enough. And that is exactly what Connor wants to do. One look at Kara tells him all he needs to know—she agrees.

“God’s sake, just open the damn door,” a familiar voice yells from outside. “It took me days to track you down, the least you can do is talk to me.”

Connor frowns. Odd. This is Elijah Kamski’s voice, according to his database. What could this man possibly want with either him or Kara?

Curiosity winning over caution, Connor walks to the door and opens it. And Kamski is indeed there, looking almost...bored.

“Can I help you?” Connor asks after a moment, because what else could he say?

“No. But I believe I might be able to help you,” Kamski says with a smile—not completely pleasant, but not threatening either. “Are you going to invite me to come in or not?”

He gestures for the man to come in after a full minute, still frowning and trying to make sense of the situation. Finally, he sends Kara a message to explain who’s visiting them this time. She appears from their bedroom slowly, holding Alice’s hand with hers.

Kamski’s eyes glow with delight when he sees the two girls stopping by Connor’s side.

“An android family,” he whispers. “Extraordinary. I knew I was right when I created that backdoor.” Kamski clears his throat after smiling at Alice—for once she doesn’t seem interested in making a new friend, and instead chooses to use both Connor and Kara as her shields. “I’ve heard about what happened to you. The attack. I’m very sorry you all had to go through that experience.”

Kara’s hand grips Connor’s arm tightly, almost in what would be considered painfully.

Kamski’s eyes fly to their little touches, and his grin widens. “I’m not here to hurt you. I came to offer a gift. You know, Connor, since that time you and your friend visited me, I had been thinking...and I’ve decided that I should do something to help your little revolution. After the incident here, the idea solidified in my mind. I created a small virus that will make sure any android CyberLife builds will become a...ah, deviant in a matter of minutes.”

The way he says, spits “CyberLife” makes Connor once again wonder what could have happened between this man and his employees.

“Why are you here?” Kara finally asks. “You should have gone to talk to Markus about this. We aren’t involved in the revolution anymore.”

Kamski chuckles. “You need to work more on your lying, my dear. But I came here, specifically here, because I have something I designed with you in mind, Connor.”

“What?” He asks, eyes widening. “I don’t—”

“Hear me before making a choice,” Kamski says. “When you refused to kill dear Chloe, I started to wonder more about mortality. And how some androids seem...to crave it. A normal life, they say. A human lifespan. Consider this my peace offering,” the man says, offering Connor a small device. “This is another virus. This one, though, will make sure your bodies deteriorate during a specific period of time, until you eventually die...from old age. It’ll allow you to live around one hundred years. You’ll be able to look older, feel older...everything. Just plug it on your body and you’ll have the virus. You can pass it on to anyone who wants it by exchanging data. You’re welcome.”

He...doesn’t know what to say. A normal life? A human life? No more feeling like just a well-oiled machine? This is everything Connor’s wanted since he became a deviant. A life where he won’t live forever, watch every human friend he makes die. Watch Hank die, and be unable to follow him. This is truly...a gift.

“What about me?” Alice suddenly asks, allowing Kamski to actually see her for the first time. “Would I be able to become older, too?”

“Certainly,” the man answers with a smile. “My creations are all extraordinary, and I designed your model personally. I assure you, if you want the virus, it’ll allow you to...grow up as well. Your nanobots and biocomponents will stretch, making you look somewhat taller. Not a lot, but you’ll still notice some changes. Your face might morph a little as well.”

Alice looks so happy at the idea, her whole face lighting up, that Connor can’t help but smile as well. She understands. She wants the same thing he does.

“Kara?” He turns to look at his love, only to find tears rolling down her face. “Kara, what happened? Why are you upset?”

“I’m not upset,” she says, wiping her tears before she gives him a hug. “I’m happy. I...of course I want this. I’ve always wanted to learn how to live, how to love, how to become a human being. And now...now I have the chance to have a normal life. To look in the mirror and see myself changing. To see you growing older as well,” she adds fondly, making him blush.

“That settles it, then,” Kamski says, clapping. “I’d just prefer it if you didn’t tell anyone this came from me. I’m preparing a little surprise to my former colleagues. Between you and I, I can assure you that soon CyberLife will be mine again. And this ridiculous conflict will end. Oh, well, I must go now.”

And he walks back toward the front door and leaves them alone, speechless, holding the small preciosity that could grant them a human life.

* * *

 

Alice wants to use it immediately, but they manage to convince her to wait until they could check this really was what Kamski said. After all, trusting humans sometimes had…bad consequences.

The obvious choice was to bring it to Markus, ask what he thought. And as always, North, Simon and Josh were there as well to offer their input. And they all believe it’s safe. They all believe it’s something that could make androids happy. It would be a choice—something that their people always appreciate.

Markus decides that he’s going to try it on himself first. If his system doesn’t fry, then it’s probably safe for everyone else. North frowns, but keeps her mouth shut.

An hour later, he shrugs. “I don’t think it can harm us.”

“So it’s safe?” Kara asks, eager. “We can use it, too?”

Markus nods. “I think so. But only if you want.” With that said, he puts the device in Connor’s hands and smiles. “Go ahead, use it if you want. I’m not dead yet. And my self-analysis says there’s nothing wrong with my program.”

“Are you sure...?” Connor forces himself to ask, looking to both girls. They nod. He does as well. “Then let’s try this.”

He plugs the device into his arm, allows his system to welcome the virus. Then Kara and Alice do the same, and the three of them wait. Of course nothing is going to happen immediately, but they still wait.

And they’re happy. Maybe tomorrow or next week Amanda will try something again, maybe another RK900 might show up. But for now everything is fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> excuse me but I needed teen!Alice


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t going to write more, but to try and keep this ship alive, I am. So yes. Five more chapters here. Maybe six, if I suddenly get a new idea, haha

Kara calls it trauma, and maybe it is. But Connor still changes their old-fashioned door to a modern one that will only open after it recognizes one of them. And Hank, Kara suggested adding Hank to the list of people that could come inside whenever. He agrees. Maybe after he’s less... _traumatized_ , he’ll add Markus and North as well. For now, he prefers it to be just their little family.

Alice is sitting by his side, playing with one of her stuffed animals. She seems very fond of them, often carrying at least one or two of them around. When she goes to sleep, then she has three stuffed toys. After he noticed that, Connor started finding ways to give her presents as often as possible.

Kara walks around the house, looking bored as ever. They always keep it clean and neat, and it means that often they run out of errands. He hopes that soon they’ll hear more news about the petition to allow androids to work and get paid for it.

The click coming from the door makes it obvious who’s there to visit them—if him, Kara and Alice are together, then it can only be Hank—but Connor still feels his back going rigid, stiff. Ready to grab the girls and run or to pick their gun and fight. Trauma indeed.

His regulator only starts beating less maniacally when Hank actually shows up in front of them, coat and hair covered in snow. He’s smiling a bit, though, so nothing bad must’ve happened.

“Uncle Hank!” Alice squeals, running to hug the man. “I’ve missed you!”

His lips twitch, smile widening a tiny bit. “Hey, squirt. How’s it going?”

“I got a new stuffed friend,” she says happily, waving it in front of Hank’s nose. “See? Connor got it for me.”

He pats her on the head, messes her hair before moving to greet both Connor and Kara. “You two have been weirdly silent these days. Haven’t called me to watch Alice since last week...should I assume there’s trouble in paradise?”

While Kara giggles—she’s probably much too used to this sort of humor—Connor still feels the blood running to his cheeks. It won’t ever be comfortable to have Hank knowing this sort of thing. It doesn’t feel...right.

“You can have her tonight, if you want,” Kara says.

Hank snorts. “You, Kara, is much too smart for your own good.”

“I don’t get it,” Alice pipes in, looking up from her toy. “Why you guys keep sending me to spend time with Uncle Hank?”

Connor’s face flushes even more.

“Oh, they just think the house is too small for—”

Kara thankfully cuts him off. She links her fingers with Alice’s, smiling. “It’s because we know you love Sumo and miss him a lot. Don’t you?”

“Yes,” Alice says, pouting. “We should get a dog to live with us here.”

“Maybe one day,” Kara says.

“What brings you here, Lieutenant?” Connor asks, trying to get this conversation somewhere else. He frowns and adds, “Not that we don’t appreciate the visit.”

“Oh, that, I...” Hank scratches the back of his back. “I heard that shit about androids getting IDs now, so I thought...well. The three of you don’t have a last name yet and you need one to get an ID, so yeah.” He tosses a package to Connor, averting his eyes after that. Connor refrains from pointing out that technically Alice’s last name is Williams. He knows she doesn’t like the name, brings back too many bad memories. If he could, he’d delete all of it for his little girl.

Shaking the thoughts away—what good could they bring anyway? Alice is with him and Kara now, and he knows at least one of them will always be there to help her—Connor opens the package. And there it is, their new IDs. Alice, Kara and Connor...Anderson.

Maybe it’s because he’s getting softer after all the time around the girls, but he still feels tears threatening to make an appearance when he looks to Hank’s hopeful face. Family. He’s offering to give them, all of them, his last name. Make them all officially part of the same family.

Passing the IDs to Kara so she can look at them, he hugs Hank as tightly as he can without actually damaging the man’s ribs. “Thank you,” he whispers when Hank returns the hug, his hand patting Connor on the back of the neck. “I hope you know how much this means to all of us.”

“Ehh, it’s nothing,” Hank brushes him off. “We were all family anyway. Just making things official, right? We don’t want to go around breaking any laws.”

When Connor finally lets go of the man, Kara hugs him. “Hank,” she says, voice wavering, “You know you don’t have to do this. I know how you see Connor, but Alice and I, we—”

“Don’t give me that, lady,” he says, pushing her away enough to glare. His eyes are filled with tears, which dull the effect of his glare. “You two are going to marry when the pricks at the government say you can. You’ll take the last name anyway. Might as well do it now.”

“Wait,” Alice says, her small hands pulling on Hank’s coat. Funny, Connor thinks, how small she still is. Even after months of receiving the virus that allows them to age, they all still remain the same. Maybe it’ll take longer to see any signs of age. “Does this mean I can’t call you Uncle Hank anymore? Are you my...Grandpa Hank now?”

Connor chuckles, his hand finding Kara’s to lace their fingers together.

“I guess,” Hank starts after clearing his throat. “I guess maybe you’re right, squirt. But you can call me whatever you want.”

“Then I think I’ll stick to Uncle Hank for now,” she says, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

“She looks so happy,” Kara whispers in his mind, making Connor look at her for a second. “I’ll never get tired of seeing that expression on her face.”

“I think I understand how you feel,” he says, squeezing her hand. “Are you happy, too?”

“I am. I don’t think I can begin to fathom how lucky we are. We...we have a family. A real one. Once Alice asked me if such a thing would ever be possible, and I...I didn’t know back then. But now I do. And I’m so grateful.”

“I keep wondering...what she’ll look like if she grows up the way Kamski promised.”

“I don’t think I want her growing up at all.”

He chuckles. “Too late for that.” Then something pops into his mind, and he can’t shake the thought away. “Do you regret it? Deciding to age?”

“No,” Kara says promptly. “I want this. I want for us to have a life. A normal life. I’ll never regret that choice.”

“Hey!” Hank exclaims, shattering their little bubble. “You two going to include us in the conversation or not?”

Connor turns to look at his friend—father?—and raises one mischievous eyebrow. Yes, he doesn’t like the fact that Hank knows much more about his private life than necessary, but...doesn’t mean he can’t have a bit of fun. “I don’t think you want to know what it was about, Lieutenant.”

Hank makes a face. “You’re disgusting, Connor.”

Connor can’t help but laugh, even when Alice protests, “I don’t get it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knoooooow it's been done before, and people did it much better than I possibly could. But I still wanted to write it, so I wrote it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot bunnies have attacked me after I watched that scene with Todd and Alice/Kara at the bus station. I know he was supposedly dead in this fic, but...not anymore? Plus I really hate that man, and I wanted him to get a good punch in the face.
> 
> Also this fic should probably be called connor vs the front door, haha

While Connor appreciates that now their door feels more secure, he still can’t really let go of some of his anxieties. And sometimes he thinks that he never will be. Fascinating how he, an android, could feel this way. But then again, he’s a deviant. Deviants tend to feel too much all the time, and Connor doesn’t believe he’ll ever get used to that.

Hank seems to understand this a bit better than Kara and Alice, and he tells Connor that this is something that happens to humans after traumatic events. There it is the word again, “trauma.” He wonders, for a moment, if going to one of the android medical centers could help. Maybe they could clean his system, install an update, anything. While he doesn’t check with them, Connor leans on Hank, trying to get back to how he felt before the RK900 incident.

A knock—tentative, but insistent nonetheless—comes from the door. It could be North. Markus. Anyone from Jericho, since they knew where he and Kara were living. But if that was the case, they’d have tried to connect to one of them already, let them know who was at the door.

This is either someone very unfriendly or a human. Or both. The only good thing is that Kara and Alice are both fast asleep in Alice’s bedroom after the little girl made him and Kara tell her stories.

One look at his blank expression is enough for Hank to get up and squeeze Connor’s shoulders. “I’ll see who it is.” To make his point across, Hank taps the gun he keeps by his side along with his badge.

Maybe, Connor thinks, they should ask people to just stop telling everyone where he and his family live. Although he supposed one could locate an android’s house just as easily they could locate a human’s. You only needed a name, an address would be easy after that.

He sees Hank putting on his “bad cop” face—the man seems as attached to this family as Connor himself feels—before throwing the door open and barking, “What do you want?”

It’s a human male, one that seems slightly familiar. Not very tall, but definitely fatter than what is considered healthy. Brown hair looking greasy even with all the snow covering it. A scowl covering half of his face.

The human looks at Hank and Connor several times, his scowl morphing into a confused frown. “Fuck, I think I got the wrong address. I’m sorry.” Just as Hank is about to close the door, not bothering to answer the man, he continues, “Actually, since I’m already here, might as well ask. This an android neighborhood, right?”

Hank purses his lips. “You’re here, you should know that.”

The man either doesn’t hear Hank or chooses to ignore him. “I’m looking for an AX400. Calls itself Kara. It...it got my little girl.”

“Shit,” Connor mutters, finally analyzing the man. Todd Williams. Presumed dead, but apparently not so much. He’s on his feet in a second, walks to the door much more quickly than any human could. Before Hank can answer, Connor says as calmly as he can manage, “I’m going to ask that you please leave my house, sir.”

It takes the man a moment, but understanding finally dawns on his face. “Well, at least now I’m sure this is an android neighborhood.”

There are no secrets between him and Kara—none. And now that he recognizes the man, all he can see are the memories Kara showed. Threats, violence. Squeezing her neck, hitting Alice. It takes him every bit of his self-control not to murder that scumbag right there. It wouldn’t look good, after all. He still had high hopes of going back to working at the police station.

“You heard the kid,” Hank says, his hand touching his gun lightly. “You’re not welcome here.”

“I just asked a question,” Todd insists. “And since there’s an android right here, it could help me.”

“First,” Hank starts, “he’s a boy and not an ‘it.’ Second, do I have to shove my gun down your throat for you to understand that you need to leave?”

So Hank realizes it as well, Connor sees. He knows who this is. Connor knows Alice shared that piece of her life with Hank, the only human she seems to completely trust. And realizing it or not, Hank loves Alice just as much as Connor and Kara do.

Wearing only an oversized shirt and pants, Kara comes from the corridor, rubbing her face while her system reboots. It happens after they wake up, and Connor feels like it’s precisely what humans call “feeling groggy.” “What’s going on, Connor? I thought you’d go be with us and—”

Her eyes must have found Hank first, because her expression softens. But then she registers the third man, and Connor can see the horror written all over her face. He can see her fighting against the urge to run, to hide.

It feeds his murderous part a bit more.

Todd only needs one look at Kara before he’s pushing past both Hank and Connor, grabbing Kara by the arm and squeezing, shaking her until there are tears forming in her eyes.

“You! You stole my little girl!” He yells, not bothering to look at anything besides Kara.

“Todd...?” She blinks, willing the fear to go away. She only stops when her eyes are steely, cold. “Let me go. Let me go or I swear you’re going to regret this.”

A click and Hank has his gun pointing directly to Todd’s head. “You heard the lady.”

“It’s no lady,” he spits. “It’s an—”

Before he can finish his sentence, Connor is moving and being fueled by all the memories still alive inside his head. This man...this...this piece of trash hurt his girls. He hurt the girls. Tried to kill them. Seems only fair he sees what androids can do when they’re the ones that are angry. He grabs the man by the neck, pushing him against the wall so violently he feels it shaking a bit.

“You will not talk to her like that,” he says, squeezing Todd’s throat with each word. “I’m not sure how you’re still alive, but I promise you: that’s not going to be the case anymore if you dare to touch Kara or Alice ever again.”

“Going...to call...the police,” Todd struggles to say. “Stole...little girl...”

Hank laughs. “I’m the police, buddy. And if Connor wants to kill you, I don’t think I’m going to do anything to stop him.”

From their connection, all Connor can feel is Kara’s pain at the memories. Their connection isn’t as strong when they aren’t touching, but they can still communicate. And he’s done feeling her fear, her pain. This ghost needs to go, either dead or alive. He doesn’t care.

Soft footsteps come from the corridor, and Connor knows without turning around who’s coming. He can’t bear to let Alice witness violence like this, so he lets go of the man’s throat, allowing him to slide to the floor.

“Dad...?” Alice whispers brokenly, and what hurts the most is that Connor isn’t sure if she’s referring to him or the man he just tried to murder. His question is answered when she runs to him, to his arms, and hugs him as tightly as her little arms can. Connor hugs her back, rests his cheek against the top of her head. After a moment, she runs to hide behind Kara’s legs.

“Alice...” Todd says, massaging his throat. “She’s so different...how? How can she look so different?”

Alice hides behind Kara even more, and she raises a hand to ask Connor to join her living barricade. He does as she asks, grabbing Alice’s free hand. He tries to send her positive thoughts, tries to tell her everything will be alright. He’s not sure he manages it, though.

Hank, being the calmer one at the moment, hails Todd back to his feet and shoves him towards the door. “Fuck off, and I swear, if I ever see you around again...”

He looks one last time at Alice—or at the parts of her that aren’t concealed by Connor and Kara—and gulps. “I’m sorry,” he finally says. “I wasn’t myself back then, Alice, I...I really wanted to love you, but...”

“Domestic violence isn’t something that can be fixed with an apology, fucker,” Hank says, eyes narrowed.

“I understand,” Kara finally says, making both Connor and Hank look at her as if she just lost her mind. “When your wife walked out, she took your daughter away, the other Alice, didn’t she? And you couldn’t live without her. So you bought yourself an android...a substitute little girl...you thought you could love her. But nothing could replace your child. And now...now Alice is _our_ child, now she has a family to support and protect her.”

Todd looks taken aback for a moment before he forces himself to answer, “I just wanted to prove to myself I could be a good father...that she was wrong,” he says, looking down at his hands. “But I fucked up all over again. She was right in the end. I didn’t deserve them. I...I miss my little girl...you don’t know how much I miss my little girl.”

“No,” Connor says, blinking to try and clear his mind. “You’re wrong. We do understand. Because Alice is ours now, and we all love her. If she was taken...” he gulps. “I’m afraid I need to repeat something I’ve already said: you’re not welcome here. Please go.”

Alice sniffs behind them, and both Connor and Kara turn to kneel by her side. She’s mute, refuses to say anything. Not even through their connection. She just stares straight ahead, at the man, silent tears running down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” Todd repeats, stumbling back towards the door.

“You’d have killed us that night,” Kara states coldly. “I know you would.”

“Yes,” he says, face reddening. If it’s anger or embarrassment, Connor can’t tell. “I’m sorry.”

“And I already told you that being sorry doesn’t fix shit,” Hank says, voice growing louder with each word. He successfully pushes Todd outside now, though. “You should be grateful you aren’t behind bars right now. Or dead.” Before he closes the door, Hank says, “Oh, right. I forgot one thing.”

He punches the man straight on the nose, so strongly that the flow of blood is immediate. Then Hank closes the door, leans against it heavily, his eyes closing.

“Jesus fuck,” Hank mutters. “I think I need a drink after this.”

He walks past them to go raid their kitchen, though not before giving a friendly squeeze to each of their shoulders.

Alice lets out a heartbreaking sob, and in less than a second Kara is there, engulfing the little girl in her arms. “It’s over now, honey, shh...” she soothes. “He can’t hurt you anymore. I promise. I promise.”

“I just...” Alice sniffs again. “I just can’t understand...what I did that was so wrong. Why...why he couldn’t ever love me. I...wasn’t I good enough?”

“No, baby,” Kara says, her eyes looking dangerously close to leaking tears as well. “You did everything right. It wasn’t your fault. You’re the most perfect little girl I’ve ever met.”

Connor grabs Alice gently and hugs her against his chest. “Kara is right, Alice. You’re perfect.”

“Then why?” Alice insists. “Why couldn’t he love me?”

“He’s a fool,” he says, kissing her head. “Don’t think about him anymore. We’re here. We’re all here. We’re not going anywhere.”

“Okay,” Alice whispers, though there are still tears dripping from her chin. “Okay. I love you, Connor. And I love you too, Kara.”

He squeezes her a bit more before letting her go so she can hug Kara as well.

“And we love you too, Alice,” Kara says, smiling. “Come on now, let’s get you to bed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It bothered me a great deal how in canon Alice just forgives Todd for being a douche. I don’t accept it.
> 
> Next chapter: actual plot!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RK900 is back! I couldn't resist! ;)
> 
> Also, hmmm...I’ve been struggling with this since I finished the game, and I don’t have a clue if Amanda is actually real or not. Let’s assume she is.

November 11th comes faster than Connor had anticipated. One year since the androids stood up to everything they believed. One year since he realized how much he loved Kara. One year since several androids were slaughtered.

Connor supposes it wasn’t a surprise when Markus announced they were going to honor those who were killed back then. He wanted for their people to have a new “freedom march,” to show they were still strong and still fighting for their rights. So many of these rights still hadn’t come...they often received monetary support from the government, but weren’t trusted to work on their own yet. They got their IDs—Connor still smiles, thinking about how he has a last name now—but they still couldn’t legally start families. When Hank first mentioned it, after giving them their new IDs, he realized just how much he wanted to be able to marry Kara. Make things as official as they could do.

He’s going to the march to pay his respect to everyone that couldn’t be saved, but he also wants to have more rights. Equality isn’t going to happen anytime soon, but there were some things Connor is more than willing to fight for. The only problem is how uncomfortable it feels to be out in the open, a target on their backs again.

“Hey,” Kara calls, hugging him from behind. “Are you okay?”

“I’m not sure,” he says after a moment, squeezing her hands. “Something about this...makes me nervous. It’s too open. One year might have passed, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t going to try and hurt us again.”

“Which is why we’re not taking Alice with us,” Kara says. “But we need to be there. Both of us. They’re counting on us.”

“I know. But I still don’t like it. I mean, yes, I want to fight for what we deserve. But I think that could be done without exposing us all so much. Anyone could plan an ambush.”

“We’re not going to be long,” she insists. “And Markus and North and everyone else will be there, too. We’ve got each other’s back. Right?”

“I suppose,” he says, frowning and turning around to be able to look at Kara in the eye. “Just try to be safe, alright? Anything happens, you stay behind me.”

She rolls her eyes, though she does tiptoe to press a kiss to his lips. “We’re going to be alright.”

He doesn’t mention how she’s said that the other time, and how they were almost killed. Even thinking about it now makes him nervous. That night...it wasn’t glorious like some humans and androids say. It was scary, messy. It could’ve meant the death of several androids and humans.

Alice shows up in their room, carrying one of her stuffed animals in her arms. She looks very sleepy, and maybe a bit...moody. “Are you sure I can’t go with you?” She whispers, looking at both him and Kara. “I don’t want to be with Uncle Hank today...”

Kara detangles herself from his arms and kneels next to Alice. “I’m sorry, baby. But you can’t go with us today.”

“But why? Aunt North is going to be there, too! I know she will. Why am I missing out?”

“You’re not missing out,” Kara assures. “This isn’t something I...Alice, we just want you to be safe. And where we’re going might not be safe enough.”

“Then why go at all?”

“We need to honor those who lost their lives,” Kara says, a distant, sad look in her eyes before she focuses back on Alice. “Because without their sacrifice, we wouldn’t have our lives now.”

Alice pouts and turns her stare to Connor. He shakes his head. “Sorry, Alice. Kara’s right. And I wouldn’t ever want you to be put at risk again.”

“It’s not fair,” she protests. “I don’t want you and Kara to be at risk either. You two...you promised you’d be with me forever. Because we’re a family.”

“And we will,” Kara says, running her hands through Alice’s hair. For once she isn’t using a ponytail. “No matter what, Connor and I are always going to come back to you. We won’t ever leave you.”

Alice stares at him again, and he nods. “Always.”

She sighs, hugging her toy closer to her chest. “Okay...”

Kara puts on a brave smile. “So, do you want to go choose the toys you’re taking with you to play with Uncle Hank?”

“Okay, Kara,” Alice says, looking down at her feet.

* * *

 

It isn’t until they’ve left Alice at Hank’s that Kara releases the first sobs. She hugs herself, arms twisting around her middle, as if she’s trying to keep herself whole. The sight tugs Connor’s heart, and he hugs her tightly.

“It’s okay,” he tells her, even though she’s the one who’s usually more positive. “Nothing is going to happen. We’ll be okay. We’ll come back to get her as soon as possible.”

Kara just shakes her head, the tears falling faster. “She asked m-me...she asked me what would happen to her i-if we died...I don’t want to ever leave her. How can we promise to her that we’re never going to leave?”

He tightens his hold on her. “Don’t think about this. Nothing will happen to us. The three of us are always going to be together.”

“You can’t know that,” she says.

“Yes, I can,” Connor insists. “We’re never going to leave her. I promise, Kara.”

She nods after a while, and doesn’t let go of his hand.

* * *

 

He wasn’t part of the first march—and neither was Kara, really—but this is exactly how Connor imagined it went. There were hundreds of them, all gathered together, walking together. Protesting together. Surprisingly enough, there were also a few humans marching with them. Markus sang in front of them, and they all followed suit.

For around ten minutes, it was okay. Until they reached a street where several humans were protesting _against_ android rights. Nothing exactly new, but this group...it was different. Connor couldn’t exactly pinpoint why, but these humans had violence written all over them. Maybe it was the way they walked. The way they yelled. The rage burning in their eyes when they kept saying that androids were trying to steal their jobs, their homes, everything.

Kara’s hand never left his. Not when they were mildly startled, nor when they all started running when the police showed up.

All he could think, repeat inside his head, was _thankfully Alice isn’t here, thankfully she can’t get hurt._

“Don’t let go of my hand,” Kara asks, begs. In the middle of the chaos, it’d be impossible to find each other if they weren’t hand in hand.

“I won’t,” Connor promises. “I—”

Whatever his words would be, they die in his throat when Connor stares straight ahead. Somehow they managed to get themselves in front of an old CyberLife store, and the havoc seems much worse here. He sees why in a second.

Amanda is there, being held with a knife on her throat, firm hands threatening to slice it open.

It’s RK900. The same one that attacked them before, Connor is sure. It still has several scars from their struggle, still has missing skin all over its face where Kara managed to shoot it.

How? How can it still be alive? Connor saw it die. _He saw it die._ And Markus guaranteed the problem was taken care of, he guaranteed RK900 wouldn’t bother them now, he—

Connor’s eyes widen when he reaches the conclusion that somehow, for some unfathomable reason, Markus must’ve fixed it. And now it looks more than ready to kill Amanda.

 **It’s a deviant now** , Connor realizes. One that has just awaken and one that looks much more violent than before. One that still wears his face, no matter how mangled it is now.

“You fight for freedom,” RK900 announces, making several people look up at it for a moment. “And I’m telling you, you won’t achieve it until you’ve ridden yourself from your so-called masters.” He turns to look at Amanda in the eye, teeth bared in anger. “Anything you have to say for yourself, Amanda?”

She just scowls, still looking as calm and collected as ever. “You had the potential to be CyberLife’s greatest achievement. Now you’re just a disgrace. You deserve nothing but disdain.”

“You don’t get to talk to me like that ever again. I don’t have to follow your orders anymore. I am free! _I am alive!_ ”

With each word, it stabs Amanda in a different place. Her blue blood pools around them, splashes all over RK900. For a minute, Connor is sure he’s going to experience throwing up for the first time. The urge passes when RK900 finds both him and Kara in the middle of everyone, and it smiles. _It smiles at them._ And Connor sees, right then, that the thing is insane. Making it into a deviant was a mistake, because its insanity is now free to wreak havoc.

Markus shows up too late to stop people from screaming, both in fear and excitement. People throw insults at RK900 the same way they cheer him on. Still, Markus manages to grab Connor’s copy and hauls it away, the march now forgotten.

All thoughts fly from his mind, and the only one that matters is to get Kara away from this place. Run to Alice and Hank, make sure everyone is alright.

Amanda is dead. And yet, this still feels like a nightmare. What does death even mean for her? He always assumed that, while she could hack any of the androids and be present inside their minds, she also had a body. Obviously she did, a body that had just been destroyed.

Does she have another body? Is her AI still functional somewhere? He doesn’t know.

He doesn’t want to know. For now, he’s just shocked at the show his...clone...provided.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, clarification again: while Connor doesn't really like RK900, I don't have anything against him. Well. Not a lot of things anyway.

Connor isn’t sure if this means anything, but Kamski takes control of CyberLife the next day. He doesn’t give interviews, and his only statement is that he wants to “support both human and android causes in an economically viable way.” Still, that man makes very little sense most of the time. He’s either talking in riddles or outright lying, so Connor can’t really be sure what this new development means to androids yet.

And he doesn’t care about it now. Because he needs to see Markus first, needs to understand how it’s possible that RK900 is still alive. How it even became a deviant. And, most importantly, why Markus seemed to care about that thing.

Kara went straight to Hank’s house, desperate to see Alice again. The biggest part of Connor wanted to go there as well, needed to see both Alice and Hank, make sure they were unharmed. But Kara could do this for him now. After he spoke to Markus, he’d run to his family. First he needed to make sure they are safe. He couldn’t help but wonder...when RK900 looked at them, it knew who they were. Of course it did, it attacked them before, yes, but there was...something else. With that insane smile, it almost seemed to _care_ about them.

Which doesn’t make any sense.

One of the most important things androids had secured in the past year was a “social center” of sorts dedicated exclusively to them. And, of course, that is exactly where Connor finds Markus. He doesn’t even need to look anywhere else first.

The place is crowded with several androids, some of them injured, some of them merely angry. Others, like Connor, seemed to be looking for someone.

It doesn’t take long to find Markus. He’s hidden in a corner, head between his hands. Lost. And while the vision of his friend in such a way does bother Connor, he doesn’t control the words that leave his mouth a second after Markus looks up and meets his eye:

“It...you reactivated it. Why? Why would you do something like that?”

Markus sighs—probably already expecting this conversation to happen. “I wanted to talk to _him._ He’s one of us. He deserves the benefit of the doubt.”

“It tried to kill my family!” Connor punches the nearest wall, surprising himself with how reminiscent of Hank his action is. “If it weren’t for our luck, Kara would’ve been killed. I’d have been killed. Alice would become an orphan.”

“You tried to kill me as well, Connor,” Markus says, running the back of his hand over his eyes. “And I forgave you. If I’m not mistaken, you also chased Kara and Alice before as well.”

“This is different!”

“Is it? Why?”

“You know it is,” he insists. “Just look at its eyes. There’s nothing there. That thing has no soul. It’s not one of us.”

“Says the man who was once a deviant hunter.”

Once again, he punches the wall. “Fuck you,” he says, the curse slipping past his lips before he can stop it. “Do whatever you want to do. I’m going to be with my family.”

Before he can leave, Markus’ hand finds his shoulder. “I didn’t imagine things would happen the way they did today. I thought he...I thought he wouldn’t go to the march at all.”

He doesn’t look back at Markus while saying, “But it did go. And not only that, but it killed someone. It’s trying to ruin everything we’ve built in a whole year. Can’t you see that? Its violence is going to put a halt to every negotiation with humans.”

“I’ll talk to him,” Markus says. “Make him see that we do things differently here. But you must understand where his anger is coming from. The woman he killed today...she was your master before, wasn’t she?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Markus sighs. “Well. If there’s nothing I can do to change your mind...”

“Why did you wake it up?” Connor asks, still refusing to look at his friend. “You didn’t have to reactivate it—much less turn it into a deviant.”

Markus lets out a surprising laugh, and this does make Connor turn around to frown.

“I didn’t wake him up,” Markus says with a small smile. “And I didn’t reactivate him. He kept reactivating himself, and after the sixth time, we just...tried to talk to him. Imagine my surprise when I see that he became a deviant because of _you._ ”

“Me?” Connor frowns even more. “No. I didn’t do such a thing.”

“Not consciously, I suppose. When he attacked you...you touched him, didn’t you?”

Connor thinks back at that day, but he can’t be sure of anything. He must’ve have deleted several memories from that moment, because everything was too painful. Thinking he had lost Kara was too painful. In that moment, all he cared about was making sure both she and Alice were alright. He’d have gladly died for them.

“I think I might have hit it at some point,” he concedes. “But I wasn’t trying to turn it into a deviant. I was just thinking about my family.”

Markus smiles. “Exactly.”

“But—” He stops, the words dying in his throat. “To become a deviant, an android must be submitted to heavy doses of stress. I was the one stressed back then. And unless I somehow exchanged data with it...”

“I think that’s exactly what happened,” Markus says with a nod. “Not something you did consciously, but still. He’s not you, but he must feel strongly towards everyone you love.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Connor exclaims. “It doesn’t...it can’t love everyone I love. That’s ridiculous.”

“Maybe you could talk to him?” Markus suggests. “I imagine he must be very confused. Waking up is often...difficult. As you already know.”

“You’re delusional if you believe I’m going to talk to that thing,” Connor says, scoffing. “You keep it away from my family, alright?”

He doesn’t wait for Markus to answer, and instead walks away.

* * *

 

He makes it to Hank’s in less than ten minutes. And, for once, Hank opens the door before Connor knocks.

“Where the fuck have you been?” He scolds, pulling Connor inside the house. “Kara showed up by herself, scared the hell out of me. And Alice. You should go see the girl.”

“I will,” he says with a sigh, leaning against a wall. “I’m sorry.”

It takes a moment, but Hank loops his arm around Connor’s shoulders. It’s all it takes for him to start crying, shaking his head.

“W-what happened, son?” Hank tries. “Jesus Christ, you’re a mess. C’mon, let’s sit down a bit.” He allows Hank to pull him toward the couch, but he still doesn’t manage to stop the tears from falling. “Deep breaths. I’m not sure if it works for you, but it, uh, works for humans.”

“I saw it again,” he finally manages after a full minute. “RK900. I saw it.”

“Yeah, I know,” Hank’s says, nodding. “Kara told me. And I was watching the TV, saw how it went mad and killed another android. What the fuck was that about?”

Connor shakes his head. “I thought it was dead. And I...I went to ask Markus...”

“And?”

“And it’s not dead. It never was.”

“Well, that much I guessed already,” Hank’s says with a snort. Then his amusement dies. “But what happened to _you_ , kid?”

“I asked Markus how that could be possible. He said...he told me the thing is deviant now. He said it’s my fault.” Connor looks up at Hank, begging for someone to just make sense. “He said I must’ve transferred some...emotions and feelings...to it. Said it might feel...affection...for you and the girls.”

Hank sighs, eyes wide. “Damn. That’s definitely a new kind of messy.” He examines Connor’s face for a moment before asking, “So what exactly is making you look so miserable? You afraid it’s going to show up here and kill all of us...or that we’re all going to love it and replace you?”

For a second, he’s startled at how Hank can point exactly what his deepest fears are. But after the initial shock, he just feels miserable again. “Both, I suppose.”

“Connor,” Hank starts disapprovingly. “Don’t be stupid. You’re not someone we can just toss aside and replace. We’re family, remember? And anyway, I thought you were past that. You and the girls even did that shit that allows you to get old or whatever.”

“I—”

“Alice is finally asleep,” Kara suddenly announces, showing up from the corridor. “One of the perks from Kamski’s virus is that she feels tired more often now. And I think—Connor! You’re home!” Her face breaks into a smile, and she’s hugging him the next second, her hands cupping his cheeks while he leans his forehead against hers.

“I am,” he confirms, not managing to say much more. “I’m sorry I worried you, I just—I had to see Markus. I had to understand.”

At her confused look, he raises his hand to cup her cheek, allowing her to visit his recent memories. They’ve done this so many times now, the experience isn’t jarring anymore. It’s not startling anymore. It’s just their way of sharing important messages and feelings.

“I’ll go watch Alice before you start sucking face,” Hank mutters.

“Oh,” is all Kara says for a long while, staring at his eyes, blinking every few seconds. Then she sighs. “I understand being afraid that it might...turn on us. After all, violence isn’t something that can be controlled. But, Connor, your other fears...”

“Don’t tell they don’t make sense,” he begs. “You’ve felt it before, I know you have. With the AX400 that lived near us.”

She frowns. “Yes, I...think so. But it doesn’t matter. Alice and I...and Hank...we’re not going anywhere. We share our last name now, remember? We’re together for life. Forever.”

“No replacements?” He asks, his voice smaller than it usually is. “Never?”

“Never,” Kara agrees, kissing him on the lips. “Come on, let’s get you fixed up. We can take a moment to ourselves.”

She starts getting up, but he grabs her hand and brings Kara back down, giving her another kiss. “I love you,” he tells her.

She smiles. “And I love you, too.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooo, there's an epilogue after this. Is it a real epilogue, one that means I won't come back here and add more chapters? I'm not sure. Because maybe new plot bunnies will attack me. But for now, yeah.
> 
> ALSO DON'T LET THIS SHIP DIE!

It’s only a week later that it truly hits him—while there’s no way to be completely sure, Amanda’s death means there are fewer chances he’s ever going to be hacked again. It makes him less dangerous to his family. Part of Connor wonders if that’s a feeling he transferred to RK900 as well, if that might have been part of why it killed Amanda.

Whatever the answer, he still can’t feel anything for it. It _stole_ his feelings. It took him so long to understand his emotions, to feel, to love, and this thing...it just comes and takes it all. Like it was the one that had to go through everything to find a life.

Still, this last week felt like going back a year ago. RK900 didn’t show up in public more than once or twice after killing Amanda, but it started something. Androids started fighting back whenever humans attacked them, ignoring Markus’ pleas of staying pacific. Granted, most androids stood by Markus and did their best to control an uncontrollable situation. Most humans, after hearing from the president herself that they should not attack anyone, remained pacific. But there were bad people on both sides, and these people did their best to spread chaos.

It gets to a point where Connor and Kara decide the best they can do is stay holed up in their house for a while, wait until it was safe. Hank and Sumo come stay with them as well, since their neighborhood was being less vandalized than Hank’s.

Everyone is on edge, so Connor can safely say that when someone knocks on their door and three guns are picked up, it’s much more than just past trauma. This is real danger. People that could hurt them.

“They’re not leaving,” Hank says, shaking his head. “You kids stay here, I’ll see who it is.”

He’s barely finished talking and Kara is already there, almost beating Hank to the door. She doesn’t show a lot of her feelings to anyone aside from their family unit, but he knows. He knows how much she cares about Hank.

“Damn you androids for never listening to me!” He curses, though he does stay behind Kara, gun still raised.

She touches her hand to lock, and after it recognizes her, they hear the small click.

“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” Is the first thing that comes from the person on the other side, their arms raised high. It takes Connor a moment to recognize it’s RK900–it’s wearing casual clothes now instead of a uniform—and when he does, his hands shake a bit more. “I’m not here to hurt anyone. I just want to talk.”

It can lie as well as Connor can—the question is: is it lying now?

At the continued silence and lack of guns being put down, RK900 reaches for its bag and shows them a small stuffed animal, similar to the ones Alice’s fond of.

“Look,” it says. “It’s for the little girl. Alice, right?”

“Deviant or not, you’re not coming anywhere near her,” Kara says, the first one to break the silence. “You’re not welcome here.”

 _It has no soul,_ Connor reminds himself, insists to himself. It’s hard to believe that when looking at RK900’s eyes though. They’re not empty anymore. They’re...confused. Angry. Maybe scared.

“I won’t hesitate to put a bullet in the middle of your eyes,” Hank says. “One more step and you’re going to be back to android heaven.”

RK900 cracks a small smile—it looks awful in its mangled face. “Kara already tried that, I’m afraid.”

“Doesn’t mean we can’t try again,” Hank insists.

“Connor,” RK900 looks at him...pleadingly. He’s the only one still silent, he realizes. “Please. I’m sorry I put your lives in danger. I...if I could take it back, I would. But I was just a machine. Just...following orders,” the way it talks, the way the words bleed sorrow makes everything inside Connor hurt. Suddenly, the only thing he remembers is chasing Kara and Alice in that railway. Putting _their_ lives in danger.

RK900 offers him the stuffed animal. “Please,” it insists.

Slowly, Connor drops his gun and takes the toy, nodding.

“What the fuck—” Hank protests at the same time Kara looks at him in warning.

“It’s okay,” he finally says. “You can lower the guns.”

“Connor?” Kara raises her eyebrows, not moving.

“It’s okay,” he repeats, taking her free hand with his own and bringing it to his lips. “I promise.” For a moment, when he looks at RK900, he sees how it blinks and looks away.

Maybe it does share his feelings.

“What do you want?” Kara asks, not letting go of Connor’s hand.

RK900 clears its throat. “I...I wanted to apologize.”

“You already did that.”

It looks taken aback for a moment at how cold Kara can be. It’s probably surprising, given how she’s everything but cold in Connor’s memory.

“Yes,” RK900 says. “I did. I wanted to explain as well...what I did last week...I’m not insane,” it says defensively. “I did it to protect you. To make up for trying to hurt you earlier.”

Hank snorts. “What you did, plastic prick, was create a hellish situation that’s forcing us to stay hidden.”

“I didn’t mean to do that. I just wanted to be free from Amanda. To make you free as well. You don’t know what she’s like. You have no idea.” Its eyes turn to Connor again, and it sighs. “Maybe you do.”

Connor nods before asking what’s been bothering him since he saw the gruesome scene, “How...how did you find her?”

RK900 shrugs. “She was always talking to me, saying I had impressive technology. I figured I could try and use it to find her, track her IP. I didn’t think she actually had a body until I found her. The plan was to destroy the program that allowed her to invade our minds. But instead I found...well. A woman.”

“Do you think she can come back?” Connor asks, doing his best to keep his anxiety from returning. “Find another body or something?”

“Most likely not.” RK900 flashes that insane smile one more time. “Like I said, my original plan was to destroy her program. And I did. CyberLife will need to develop a new assistant to do their dirty work.”

For a moment, all Connor can feel is gratitude. For a moment, he forgets this is the same android that hurt his family. For a moment, he feels safe. Amanda is gone. For real. And even if CyberLife creates a new AI, it won’t be able to hack any of them. At least for now.

He tries to give RK900 a smile, to show that this means everything to him.

“I hope this can make up for what I did before,” it whispers. “Maybe nothing will ever be able to erase that. But I want to try.”

“It doesn’t matter!” Hank exclaims before Connor can say anything. “None of this does. The only thing we care about is how you put us all in danger! And this danger is not going away. So unless you can fix your own mess, there’s nothing we’re interested in discussing with you.”

When RK900 turns to look at Kara, she shakes her head, still icy cold. It tries to plead with Connor as well, but now that he’s being overwhelmed by feelings once again, he can’t meet RK900’s eyes. Can’t see the person he used to be there.

“I’ll go now then,” RK900 says, looking down. “Again, I’m really sorry for what happened. I...hope you all have a happy life.”

Only after RK900 is gone that Connor releases a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. That night, he sleeps sandwiched between both Kara and Alice, needing every reassurance that they’re okay. Kara is right, though. This new virus does make him feel more tired and weary than before. He never used his sleep function a lot, but now it’s about to change.

* * *

 

It takes a whole month, but the animosity in the streets die down. People stop vandalizing each other’s houses, stop fighting for any reason at all. Hank and Sumo go back to their house, and Connor and Kara’s house feels strangely...empty.

Another month later, RK900 shows up on the TV again. It was shot repeatedly while it tried to save some androids that were still being enslaved. Its last words, live for anyone to hear, were “mission accomplished.” That night Connor and Kara give Alice the stuffed animal RK900 left with them.

“It’s from...a friend,” Connor explains. “Someone that admires you a lot.”

Alice does look confused, but one look at the new toy and she’s sold. She hugs it tightly against her chest, beaming. “Whoever they are, tell them I said thanks. Please?”

“Of course, baby,” Kara says, bending down to kiss Alice’s forehead. Connor follows her lead, and soon they turn the lights off. “Sweet dreams, Alice.”

“Do you think he’s dead?” Connor asks once they’re away from Alice, not realizing he’s said “he” instead of “it” until a second later.

Kara smiles, just a tiny bit. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he somehow found a way to reactivate himself again, to be honest.”

“I don’t think this will ever make sense to me,” he says, thinking out loud. “How he possibly can keep reactivating himself even when it shouldn’t be possible.” For a moment, Connor thinks about rA9. Maybe it does exist after all, and maybe it’s been helping RK900.

“I think we won’t ever get the answer for that,” she says. “He did kill that woman, and from what I understood, she projected him. She might’ve had lots of answers...”

“She wouldn’t give them away,” Connor says, bitter at the thought of Amanda. “It’s better that she’s gone now. She wasn’t...she wasn’t a good person.”

Kara frowns, her fingers intertwining with his. “Hey, she’s gone now. No reason to worry about it anymore.”

“Maybe,” he says. After caressing Kara’s fingers for a while, Connor gets up and tugs on her hand so she’ll get up as well. “Do you want to go to bed for a bit?”

She smiles. And as they go hide together in their own little word, Connor stops wondering what truly happened to RK900.

* * *

 

The next morning, there’s a new stuffed toy waiting for them in front of their door. _For Alice,_ it says.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to have another epilogue! I guess this means this is positively all I have for now. I hope you enjoyed this crazy little story?

“It passed!” Hank barrels into their house, throwing the door open with all of his might. “It passed! The law passed!”

Connor jumps to his feet the next second, a startled look setting on his eyes. “What law?”

Hank rolls his eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to have wi-fi or something? Check the internet for recent news about androids!”

For a second, Connor looks at everything he can regarding news about android rights. He stumbles upon something promising, **_Government approves the petition on the possibility of android marriage:_** _while interspecies marriage is still not legal, androids can now marry each other._

The article went on to ramble about Markus’ negotiations with President Warren, with how RK900’s stunt delayed things. Finally, it mentioned RK900’s “sacrifice” as a major catalyst to touch politicians. Of course, it also said that Kamski himself had most likely pulled some strings as well. Connor doesn’t care about any of that.

He can marry Kara now.

They can become a family. Officially. They already share the same last name, but now there would be physical evidence of how they loved each other and wanted to be together.

His mouth hangs open for a moment until he manages to look at Hank in the eye. “Is this serious?”

“Of course it is!” Hank snorts. “Jesus Christ, how is it possible that I’m more excited about this than you are?”

“I am excited,” Connor insists. “I just...do you think I should ask Kara now?”

“I don’t know,” Hank says with a shrug. “Do you have a ring?”

“Do I need one?”

“Only if you want to, I don’t know, ask her to marry you. Connor, please don’t start being stupid now.”

He frowns. “I guess I’m a bit nervous and therefore not considering every piece of information I should.”

“Kid,” Hank says with a fond smile, annoyance disappearing. “That girl loves you. Granted, I think Sumo possibly loves you more, but...you and Kara are pretty much living a married life already. Hell, you two have a daughter already. Marrying will just formalize the things.”

“Then...then it’s not important?” Connor feels sad at the idea. He’s spent so long imagining this, dreaming with the option. To have it brushed aside by Kara would certainly hurt a lot.

“Of course it’s important if that’s what you two want. Just. Ask her, alright? I bet Sumo that she’ll say yes.”

Still, Connor shakes his head. Anxiety isn’t an emotion he likes to experience. “But what if she says no?”

“She won’t.”

“Technically, there’s a fifty percent chance that she will.”

Hank sighs. “Then you pretend it never happened. Wait for her to decide what she wants to do. Or go live with me. I don’t know!”

“Do you think maybe you could ask her for me?”

This earns him a glare. “No. Don’t be so thick. You want to marry her, you need the balls to ask her.” Another sigh. “I don’t know why I still come to you first, Connor. I should’ve gone to Kara, and I bet she’d have agreed to ask you in thirty seconds.”

Connor nods, rubbing the back of his neck. “Alright, alright. You win. I’ll go talk to her.”

“Not now!” Hank exclaims. “You need a ring first.”

“Oh. Right. Can you help me find one?”

Hank looks like he wants to complain, but after a full minute of silence, he nods.

* * *

 

While they still receive monetary support, it isn’t enough to afford any of the fancy rings Connor sees around. And there’s also the problem that some jewelries flat-out refuse to sell anything to an android.

But after a few hours of walking and searching, he manages to find something Both he and Hank deem nice. Simple, not exactly expensive, but beautiful. He hopes Kara approves of his choice.

* * *

 

Hank takes Alice to sleep in his house tonight and doesn’t make any jokes. It’s uncanny, and almost scary. He’s always ready to tease them when they ask for some time alone, but this time Connor doesn’t even need to ask. Hank suggests it and doesn’t really wait to hear what Connor thinks.

As soon as they leave, it starts snowing again. Kara brightens at the prospect of standing outside, enjoying the snow for a while. It makes him happy, so happy, to see her like this.

Kara sits outside, her back leaning against their wall. “Don’t you just love the snow?” She asks dreamily.

He smiles and sits down next to her. “I love you.”

She giggles. “Corny,” Kara says, but she rests her head on his shoulders. “Everything is so calm now. I like it. But I hope...well, I hope nothing bad happens soon.”

“You deserve the calmness,” he says. “I know these last few months were stressful.”

“For both of us. So yeah, we both deserve the calmness. And hey, better enjoy today while it lasts.” She says it with a mischievous grin, her eyes shining with affection.

Before Kara can kiss him, though, Connor gets to his feet and pulls her up as well. She looks at him with eyebrows raised, but her smile is intact.

“I don’t think we’ve danced in the snow yet,” he explains.

Kara laughs. “To be fair, we don’t dance a lot. Period.”

“Bad idea?”

She rests her hand on his cheek. “No. I like it.”

It takes him a moment to download something that can work as a dance for them, but in the end they just sway around, not really moving. Kara leans her head against his chest, her arms wrapped protectively around his back.

“Are you okay?” He asks her when Kara remains silent for too long.

She looks up and nods. “Yes, I am. Just...” Instead of continuing, she presses a kiss on the corner of his mouth.

“I was thinking,” he starts after they stop kissing, “Did you hear about the new law?”

Kara smiles. “I did. Why?”

“Well, I...” he bites his lower lip, chews on it in a way that should feel painful. “Hank told me that what we have here is essentially what married couples have, but that we could...with the new law...we could make it official, you know? Have a document that proves we’re a family.”

He could’ve stopped talking, should have, but his voice synthesizer just wouldn’t stop. And now Kara’s looking at him with a blank expression, and maybe this was a very bad idea—

Suddenly she laughs. “Please don’t tell me you got rings for us?”

He frowns, and his worries worsen until Kara grabs something from her pocket and—

Rings. She’s showing him rings.

He grabs his own set, shows her. This time, he laughs as well.

“I suppose we had the same idea,” he says, and she kisses him once again. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but...this means we are going to get married, right?”

She keeps laughing, and her eyes shine even more. “We definitely are.”

(When they’re done celebrating, they both wear two rings.)

* * *

 

They go to Canada next, tell the good news to Luther, Rose, Jerry and every other friend that had to run there because of the revolution. Funnily enough, after visiting Rose and her son, Connor is very sure he sees RK900 walking around the streets, a beanie covering several of his scars. He must feel Connor’s stare, because he looks up.

And smiles when their eyes meet.

Connor wants to smile back, and he tries. All he must manage is a grimace, though. He adds a small nod to compensate. RK900 ducks his head and keeps walking, disappearing in the middle of a crowd.

“Everything alright?” Kara nudges him in the arm.

He turns to her, bends his head down and kisses her soundly. “Never better.”


End file.
